The Flashbacks Intertwine
by yas-m
Summary: A series of Jack/Kate drabbles & oneshots. Angst, fluff,... Most are set in canon, some might be slightly AU. Mostly are more or less plotless, just some fun.
1. Goodnight

Okee, decided to post all the little drabbly stuff I've been writing erm, in class. So these are basically unrelated drabbles, including angsta and fluff. Some of them are episode based and others are not. And since you guys are the best, I know you are gonna be great and review, Jate cake waiting for those who do :D

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1. Set at the end of SOS, without Michael returning, not really what you expect though.

**Goodnight**

"I'm sorry I kissed you," Kate said staring into the fire.

Jack started to say something then stopped. For once he was not going to let her get away with it. He wasn't sorry, it was the only good thing he had felt in a really long time, and he wanted to tell her that.

"I'm not," he said, eventually, searching her eyes.

Like an uncontrollable gravitational force of nature, their faces drew together. As he closed his eyes, however, he felt her breath become farther.

He opened his eyes, and she pulled away.

"Jack, I…" she started, as she stared back at the fire before her.

Jack shook his head and looked away.

"I'm going to sleep," he said without looking at her.

"Jack, wait," she said, her eyes begging him to look at her.

"Goodnight, Kate," he said, as he lay down, his back turned to her.

She stayed up all night, watching him pretend being asleep, as she fought her tears and thought of all the mistakes she had done and all the lies she had said, and all the things she should have done and said.


	2. Doing It All Wrong

Forgot the **Disclaimer** in first chapter, so here it is: Not mine.

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2. No where specific in the timeline. Kate teaches Jack how it's done.

**Doing It All Wrong**

She always woke up before everyone else, when the sun was just about to peak out on the horizon, and the morning breeze was cool and fresh. She stepped out of her tent and stretched her arm. Scanning the beach she saw him, the only person to get up before her everyday, Jack.

Jack stood at the beach, his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed, as he welcomed the cool gusts of wind on his face. His stood barefoot with his jeans were rolled up just below his knees and his sleeveless purple shirt flapped across his body as it played with the wind. He stood at the edge of the water, where not every wave could crash against his legs, but rather every other or so would cover his feet, and as each wave left and sunk him a little a smile drew on his face.

Coming from behind him quietly, Kate stopped a couple of feet behind and said, "You're doing it all wrong."

Jack chuckled and turned his head to look at her, taking in her morning beauty, he smiled.

"Hey," she said.

"Morning," Jack replied.

He watched her as she pulled back a strand of hair behind her ear and came up beside him.

"I said you're doing it all wrong," she said again teasingly, "this is not how you sink. At this rate it will take you forever to get off the island."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know there were rules to it," he joked, as she was now next to him, their arms brushing.

"Such an amateur!" she smirked, "You're lucky I am a pro, and willing to give you a few tips."

"Really?" he laughed.

"Yup," she said mischievously, "first of all, you need to be in a little bit deeper," she explained taking a step forward.

Jack did not move, but rather stood there watching her.

Realizing Jack had not moved forward with her, Kate stepped back towards him again.

She looked up at him and smiled back, as she stared into his eyes. Without looking down she took his hand and moved her forward with her, "We need to go deeper," she whispered.

Following her, Jack nodded, and interlocked his fingers with hers, without taking his eyes off of her.

Kate looked down at their interlocked finger and smiled. She looked at him and saw he had closed his eyes again, "and it's always more fun to have someone to sink with you," she said under her breath and closed her eyes.


	3. Stupid Woman

3. A baby chat between Claire and Kate after The Whole Truth. Indirect Jate implication. (I'm writing this at the end of a week with no sleep- so be gentle :D)

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**Stupid Woman**

Kate walked up to Claire as she was laying Aaron down in his crib.

"Hey. How is he?" Kate asked.

"Oh, he's great. Fever's all gone," Claire replied, smiling.

"Did you hear about Sun being pregnant?" Claire said, sitting down next to Kate.

"Yeah, I did," Kate said.

"They must be so excited," Claire said, "...and scared," she quietly added.

Kate nodded and smiled back, as she gently rocked Aaron's cradle.

"Do you know if they have other children back in Korea?" Claire asked.

"Erm, I don't think so... I think it's their first child. Why?" Kate replied.

"I don't know, I was just thinking who here looks like they have kids back home, and Sun is just so motherly, you know?" Claire explained, "so who do you think has kids?"

"well, Susan over there has two kids..." Kate said.

"What about Rose and Bernard?" Claire asked.

"I don't think so. They're actually newly-weds," Kate said.

"Really! They look like they have been together forever," Claire exclaimed with her eyebrows raised.

"Locke doesn't have any kids, either" Claire said.

"Probably for the better," Kate joked, "can you imagine an army of little Lockes with hunting knives and his _faith_?"

Both women laughed out loud, "or how about a little pissed off trigger happy miniature of Ana Lucia?" laughed Claire.

"Sawyer probably has a dozen kids he doesn't know of scattered around," Kate joked.

After a few other jabs at their fellow survivors, they were able to stop lughing, Kate looked at Claire seriously, "You think Jack has kids?" she asked her.

"I don't know," Claire replied, "he is so good with Aaron, and not only in a doctor sort of way. He is very caring and just knows how to take care of him, of everyone," Claire looked back from Aaron to Kate and saw her smiling, "and he was married, so he probably..."

"He's married?" Kate interrupted her.

"_WAS_ married, Kate, _was_." Claire explained, "you didn't know? You two have spent almost every minute in the past two months together, he didn't tell you?"

"Well, we didn't really talk about personal stuff from our past," Kate said quietly, "how did you find out anyway?"

"He told Sun, when she lost her ring a few weeks back, but said he wasn't anymore," Claire explained, noticing a small smile draw on Kate's face.

"You know what happened?" Kate asked curiously.

"Not sure. But knowing Jack, I doubt he would leave her, or anyone, and it didn't sound like she'd passed away, so I'm guessing she left him?" Claire rationalized.

Kate smiled, "stupid woman," she said quietly.

Claire heard her, smiled back and nudged the blushing Kate.


	4. The Way She Did

4. Post kiss, I guess post Hunting Party as well. Jack needs to tell her something. Not much happens, except that he has this thing he has to tell her. Well I noticed that Kate is somewhat passive in this, I was not trying to neglect her or anything, you know I love Kate, but don't know why this was mostly Jack sigh Jack (not really bad, is it?) Anyhoo, R&R pweeeeez :D

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**The Way She Did**

"I was married,"Jack said coming up behind her.

Kate stayed put, her arms across her chest, staring out to see. She didn't turn around, and he did not come closer.

She fought the temptation to turn around and read his face to know where that was coming from given that he had not spoken to her all week and knowing Jack wasn't big on openning up, but still she focused her stare towards the horizon.

He dug his hands in his pockets and bit his lower lip, unsure of why he was telling her this and where he was going with it.

He waited a moment for her to turn, although he knew she wouldn't, ultimately she was more stubborn than he was.

"She came into the ER with a broken back and everyone said, _knew_, that there was no chance she would ever walk again, even me, but I operated on her and she was fine," Jack blurted out the words like he had no control over his own mouth, "I _fixed_ her," he scoffed.

Kate, pinned down in her position at the shore, had blocked out the sounds of the island, the waves and the wind and could only hear Jack. She had known him for two months, longer than she had known most people she had met, yet she did not really _know_ him. One thing she knew, however, was that Jack was no open book, yet here he was actually giving her something real. As much as her heart was begging her to turn to him, her head forced her to keep her walls up as he was starting to crack his.

Jack found himself going on like a tape that was stuck on play, "we started going out and we got engaged. I guess I thought I loved her, maybe I did, or maybe I thought I had to, like it was my duty," Jack sneered.

Kate chewed the inside of her cheek, to stop herself from doing anything else, she might regret or thought that she might. She uncrossed her arms from her chest. with her right hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and held it on the back of her neck, as she bit on the nails of her right hand.

"I guess the problem was not only my feelings but also hers. I thought she loved me, as in _me_, but she..." Jack paused.

He took a few steps towards Kate, and she felt him approach her. He needed to tell her, but he needed to do so to her face.

"Kate," he said, but she did not respond, "Kate, please," he said, his voice pleading.

Slowly and stubbornly she turned around, meeting his gaze and seeing for once, even though very slightly, _Jack_, purely as _Jack._

"she made me a hero, she saw me as a hero, a man I am not, and a man I can not be," Jack said, "she loved that man. I guess I should have known I was going to fail her, that it would never work or be real because whatever I did I could never live up to the image she had built of me. It was ... just... the way she looked at me, wanted me always to be so perfect."

He paused, and searched Kate's eyes as his begged her, "Kate, just please, don't look at me the way she did."


	5. Lasagna

5. No angst this time. A little chat over breakfast. Review and you'll get cookies.

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Lasagna

Jack woke up to an overwhelming smell that was flowing through the hatch. His eyes widened as he figured out what that smell was, and a small smile drew on his lips because he thought he would never smell it again.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Kate standing over the stove and his smile took over his face.

"You're making pancakes?" he said, sounding like an overexcited five year old.

"Yeah, I am," Kate laughed, "there was a box of pancake mix in the food drop."

Jack walked over and inhaled the smell of fresh pancakes, "mmmmm,"

Kate laughed, "would you like some?" she asked teasingly, "'cause I could leave you one or two."

"You'd be lucky if I left you one or two," Jack teased back.

Kate laughed, "well, why don't you take this plate to the table and grab us a couple of plates," she said pointing to the one she had already laid a few pancakes in, "and then we'll see who will leave who what."

Jack smiled and took the plate to the table. Looking at the way she had made them, he laughed. She had one big circular pancake surrounded by two smaller ones.

"Don't laughe," she scolded him jokingly when she saw his smile, "that's how I know how to make them. I learned to make pancakes from a Minnie Mouse cookbook, and that's how Minnie Mouse made them."

Jack laughed, then turned to her shaking his head, "then I'm sorry but I can't have any," he said sounding hurt.

"You see, I had a traumatic experience involving Minnie Mouse, it would just be too painful, sorry," Jack said trying to sound serious, but his laugh gave a bit away.

"Oh, really, the big brave doctor is scared of Minnie Mouse?" she laughed.

"Well, when I was ten, my father took me along with him on a medical conference at DisneyLand. One day he got really drunk, and he ended up hitting on Minnie Mouse. We were eventually escorted out and the event made headlines. I was scarred forever."

Kate cracked up, "You serious? Oh my God! Ok then, just because you were "scarred forever" I will make an exception and you can have the pancakes without the ears, just so as not to aggravate your childhood woes."

"Thank you," Jack smiled, "So, Minnie Mouse cookbook? I wouldn't have taken you to the home-ec kind of girl. I figured you would have been too busy climbing trees and stuff, cooking just sounds to girly for you."

Kate's eyes widened and she tried to look shocked and appalled, "I don't know if I should be offended by that." she feigned hurt, "as a matter of fact, Mr. Shepard, i can also make Minnie Mouse minipizzas and Minnie Mouse vegetable dip."

Jack smiled, "and how is that different from regular vegetable dip?" he joked.

"well, it more Minnie Mouseish," she explained with all confidence.

"Oh I'm sorry, you are obviously a culinary expert then," Jack was enjoying himself at her expense.

"Oh yeah," she said resting back and crossing her arms, "let's hear what you can do then?"

Jack mocked her movement and tried to look like he was thinking hard, "let's see... I can make a mean grilled cheese sandwich and I know just the perfect combination of peanut butter and jelly,"

Kate shook her head, "I'm sorry to tell you, Jack, but that is not cooking. You'll have to do better to convince me."

"Ok, then, I can make one hell of a lasagna," Jack said.

Kate looked at him confused and interested, "where'd you learn to make lasagna?" she said pulling her foot up and leaning forward on her knee.

Jack debated for a second wheter to tell her or not.

"C'mon Jack, it can't be another top secret like your tattoos, and I promise I won't tell anyone that you're a master at Italian cuisine," she pleaded at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Ok, fine. When I was in my junior year, I sterted going out with this girl who loved lasagna. She loved it. It was all she'd order every time we went out, and her fridge only had frozen lasagna in it," Jack explained, "so for our third month anniversary, I thought I'd make a really romantic dinner for her and make her lasagna myself. So for a week I practiced making lasagna and tested them on my room-mate. The poor guy was gonna kill himself at the end of the week," Jack laughed.

"And so, how did it go?" Kate asked intrigued.

"The date?" Jack laughed, "fantastic, we broke up midway through dinner."

Kate burst out, "was the lasagna that bad?"

"No, actually, it was rather good. She left with the rest of it," Jack replied, scratching his chin.

"hmmmm, well now you wil have to prove it to me," Kate said raising her eyebrows.

"Prove what?" Jack asked.

"That you make one hell of a lasagna. There is a box of Dharma Initiative Lasagna in he pantry," Kate smiled.

"Oh, really?" Jack said moving closer, "Anyway, I thought we are a vegetarian."

"I am, you can make mine a vegetarian lasagna," Kate explained.

"Oh no, sorry, my specialty is not vegetarian lasagna," Jack shook his head and smirked.

"Well, I just modified my specialty Minnie Mouse pancakes for you," Kate tried to sound hurt.

"I did not ask you to, you suggested that so that you do not aggravate my childhood traumas," Jack said, "so unless you convince me that meat aggravates a certain trauma for you, i can't do anything for you."

Kate sat back and thought for a moment, "I got food poisoning from bad meat in school when i was eight," Kate started as if this was her most painful memory, "for three days I sat in the hospital, without any of my parents finding out or showing up. My stepdad was too drunk and my mom was working three jobs she didn't realize I was not there," Kate said managingg to squeeze out a tear.

Concern took over Jack's face, "Oh God, Kate, I am so sorry," he said.

"That's why I don't eat meat," Kate shook her head, "so... does this get me a vegetarian lasagna or not?" she pleaded.

"Sure, Kate," Jack said.

Kate looked at him with her teary eyes and saw the genuine concern in his eyes, a few seconds later she cracked up.

"What?" Jack asked confused.

"You promise you'll make me lasagna?" she asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Jack asked.

"Nothing, someday I just might tell you why I am a vegetarian, for real, but for now you owe me a lasagna," Kate laughed.

Jack laughed and smacked his forehead lightly, "good one, but I'll get you back for this. But lasagna, tomorrow, lunch, you and me."

Kate got up and took their plates to the sink, "it's a date."

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A/N: ok this turned out to be a little longer than a drabble. hope you enjoyed. help my self esteem and review, pweeeeeeez :D 


	6. High Stakes

**I started this fic a very long time ago (four years!) and I have not updated it since. The idea was basically for a series of unrelated one shots and drabbles, mostly not plot heavy, just little vignettes if you wish that I scribble down whenever I am bored. I have found a few unpublished drabbles around, and a few that I had posted on LJ over the years but never here, so I thought I might as well bring this back to life and post them here. Hope you guys enjoy them. I will try to update more (since I have like 8 or 9 drabbles already written). Mostly, these are canon. Some will be completely AU and others will pick up after certain seasons and diverge from there. Pretty straight forward I guess. ENJOY!**

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**Title:** High Stakes

**Summary:** Jack takes a liking to gambling. Set during the O6's time off island

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Jack was never a big fan of bets and gambling.

He did partake in the occasional, drunkenness induced betting in college. Often these bets involved the graduate assistant's choice of underwear, or the new freshman down the hall of his dormitories. Almost always, these bets ended up with someone running naked across the quad well after midnight, or waking up with a vicious headache in some stranger's room.

His colleagues gave up on him during their Vegas seminars almost immediately. They tried to convince him, after a few drinks from the hotel bar, that it was one of his duties as a doctor to participate in the activities in order to advance the medical profession and find cures for the ailments of mankind.

He almost lost his life in Phuket more than once, and a few of those times, it was due to gambling. He picked up the game pretty quickly, and got good at it even quicker, which did not sit well with the back alley dealers and shady casino owners. When, for the third time in 5 days, he found himself gagged and bruised in a dark, hot, smelly basement, with a gun to his head, he thought it just might be time to head on back home.

On the island, he humored Hurley a few times at golf, and is still waiting for his 6 million dollar winnings. The poker game with Sawyer was a necessity, but he would admit, if pressured, that he did enjoy humiliating Sawyer publicly in Sawyer's own home court. But after that, he refused all of Sawyer's requests for a rematch. There was never anything that Jack wanted in return or anything that he would win that was worth it.

Jack did change his stance on the issue, though. On a wet, gloomy, evening in February, Kate had put Aaron to bed and snuggled next to him on the couch with a bottle of wine, as a basketball game was starting. The game was between the bottom seeded teams and was proving to be more boring than anyone had expected. With nothing else on tv, Kate suggested they take advantage of the escalating number of turnovers, missed shots and awkward passes and turn it into their own game. By halftime, they had consumed their first bottle of wine, and caused Aaron to wake up twice due to their laughter and Kate's squeaking giggles, induced by Jack declaring a tickle war on her when her team's center tripped on his own during a time out bringing down with him a ref and a cheerleader.

They never knew who had won that game. By the end of the third quarter, Kate had declared herself victorious because her team had scored the first three pointer of the game's 41 attempts. Jack was left terrified for a few moments as she decided her own reward, looking at him with a mischievous look in her eyes, and a slight smirk on her lips. However, all fear was suspended when she shoved him against the wall, pressed her body against his, and whispered lustfully in his ear, her fingers already finding their way to the hem of his shirt, "you're my sex slave tonight, Shephard".

Jack had no problem with gambling after that day, and bad basketball games became the most anticipated events of the week.


	7. Little Fury Bugs

**Title: **Little Fury Bugs **  
Summary: **During the O6's time off island

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She always teased him when the fangirls attacked. He blushed and it made her laugh. It was fun, but she would always put an arm around his waist or plant a quick kiss on his jaw when they got out of hand. Sure, she trusted him, but she didn't trust them, and it drove her mad with jealousy, not that she would admit it out loud.

He never teased or laughed when the fanboys surrounded her. His grip on her waist grew stronger and his jaw clenched. He never said a word though. A smirk drew on his lips when they'd bolt away as they realized she came with a 6'1" boyfriend and a toddler.


	8. Golden Pass

**Title: **Golden Pass

**Summary: **Totally AU. Set after everyone is rescued (as though rescue came around end of s2). Jack and his daughter live in Sydney.

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He knew she was watching him. He could see her trying to steal glances through the crack of the unclosed bedroom door. She should have been asleep hours ago, but he knew from the moment he paid the babysitter and checked on her pretending to be sleeping that she would be up and sneaking into his room in no time. He felt bad about leaving her again but he knew he had no choice in going on this trip, not this time.

He stood by his bed, fresh out of a shower, in a pair of old blue jeans staring at the open suitcase that sat waiting patiently to be filled by the same navy blue suit, white t-shirt and brown envelope that it carried across the Pacific on every one of these trips. It shouldn't take long to pack, but it always felt like forever whenever he had to pack them.

She stood outside her father's bedroom door, curly brown hair disheveled and her droopy eyes barely surviving her midnight mission. She watched him with his back turned to her, methodically go through his closet, taking out one item at a time and laying them in the suitcase until he took the brown envelope out the bedside drawer, place it on top of everything and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I know you're there, Gracie. You can come in if you want to," he said turning around to meet the pair of big brown eyes staring back at him. She looked at him through confused eyes, not sure if she was in trouble for being up so late or not. He caught on that as she crunched her forehead and looked as though she were analyzing him. He let out a small laugh and motioned for her to join him on the bed, "You know you're supposed to be in bed right now, don't you Princess?" he teased her. "Sorry, daddy," she said, jumping onto his lap and knowing she's off the hook having gotten a "Princess".

"Did you have fun tonight?" he asked. "Mhmm, we played with the new game uncle Hurley got me then I had a bath, then we ate chicken nuggets, and drank orange juice, then we read a book about bunnies, then I went to bed and then you came," she blurted it all out excitedly, "did you have fun tonight daddy?"

"Well, I am having fun now," he compromised, thinking over the horrible day they had today in the ER after a building collapsed down town.

"You're travelling again tomorrow, right?" she asked him, looking up at him with a look that broke his heart every time. He nodded in reply, her cracking voice starting to give him second thoughts. "Do you want me to help you put your clothes in the bag?" she asked.

"Well, I am done packing, but if you want to help me close the bag, you can sit on it real hard and squish it so daddy can zip it, what do you say?" She sat on the bag before he could finish his sentence, her tiny body trying to press the bag down, as he zipped it closed.

"You're getting fat," he teased her, lifting her off the bag with one hand and putting the bag on the floor with the other. "No, I'm not!" she squeaked back, before going into a giggling fit as he tickled her tummy.

"Daddy! STOP!" she squealed.

"Never!" he replied tickling her more.

"DADDY! PLEASE!"

Jack put his giggling daughter down on his bed and waited for her to catch her breath. "Do you want to sleep here tonight?" She looked at him with glowing eyes and nodded as a smile stretched her cheeks.

He lifted the covers and she scooted under them. "Daddy? Will you have time to fix my hair tomorrow before you leave? Jennie tried but she doesn't fix them good like you," she asked him.

"Sure I will, sweetheart, I will also drop you off at school before I go to the airport."

"ok. I like it when you take me to school," she said.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because when you take me to school, Miss Roberts looks at you funny and when you leave she has a silly face," she replied honestly making Jack giggle, "will you also get me after school?"

"No honey, I will be in the plane then. Aunt Claire will pick you and Aaron up and she'll take you to her house for the next few days, ok?" he explained, "Aren't you excited to spend a few days with Claire and Aaron?"

"Mhmm, Aaron said we can play on his new Xbox," she grinned.

"Daddy, are you going to Cafornia again?" she asked after a few quiet moments of watching him go through the contents of the envelope.

"Yes, sweetie, I am going to California," he explained, switching his concentration back to her.

"Why? Why do you always go there and I can't go with?" she asked sitting back up again.

He moved closer to her, "I told you before, Gracie, every time I go it is because I have an important meeting to help a friend, and this time the meeting is very important. If it works this time, then I don't have to go on any other one of these trips. And if I do go then you too can come," he explained to her.

"Why can't your friend come here for the meeting?"

"Because my friend can't leave California, and it is very important that I go there for the appointment."

"Was your friend also on the island with you and Aunt Claire and Aaron and Uncle Hurley?"

"Yes, my friend was with us on the island," he said, hating every time he has to hide the truth from his little girl.

"Does Aaron know your friend?" she asked, already cooking up a plan.

"I don't think he remembers much from the island, he was very young."

"Then maybe Aunt Claire…"

"Gracie," he looked at her sternly, "I promise, I'll tell you all you need to know soon, but just not yet, ok?" he said, kissing her forehead.

She nodded hesitantly and lay back down as Jack went back to his brown envelope.

"Don't forget your passport, Daddy." She said between yawns.

Jack chuckled, "I won't, Princess," he said turning around to find she had fallen asleep. He walked over and pulled the covers back up and kissed her freckled cheek.

"Goodnight, Gracie."


	9. Backpack

**Title:** Backpack

**Summary:** Jack is a little OCD. Set from Pilot to TNPLH.

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During the first few weeks after the crash, Jack Shephard maintained two meticulously packed backpacks. The leather black bag, was stocked with the most essential first aid requirements, while the more specific meds and tools sat in the food cart in his cave. The second bag, was the backpack he took with him everywhere, on treks, while taking water to the beach, or bringing fish to the caves. It was with him when he discussed his favorite golf resorts with Hurley, and he had it when he sat through another spiritual mumbo-jumbo speech by Locke. This bag carried the essentials of every day survival on the island; water bottle, extra shirt, lighter, knife, rope, and later, gun. It also had the essentials for getting saved. He would never admit, but the first few days, he still had deep down within him, the hope that rescue might appear at any moment. He made sure to always have with him his passport, as naive as that might sound to him years later, his wallet, his dead cell phone, his father's wallet and papers from Sydney. "You never know when rescue might arrive," he always tried to convince himself when he's be organizing his belonging before going to sleep each night, "always be prepared," he laughed at the boy scout voice in his head.

A little over a month into the crash, he'd given up hope, and the "rescue" toolkit had left his bag and found a home in a little file he'd found in the hatch and was now keeping in his tent, stuck neatly between his supply of three shirts and above his abandoned dress pants. He'd become aware and conscious of how ridiculous it was walking around with a passport and pictures of his mom and dad while trying to outrun a cloud of black smoke, or getting caught in a net, or taking a beating from a native, island dwelling, baby snatcher. His bag had more important things to carry now as his arsenal grew to contain two hunting knives, a gun, more ammunition, and the occasional dynamite.

All that seemed useless, though, at the end, because when rescue came it was no where near what anyone had expected. He chuckled sadly thinking of his rescue toolkit, still sitting somewhere in his tent, on an island that, for all he knows, just vanished into thin air. He stood in his little cabin quarter on The Searcher looking at the clothes one of the crew members offered him. He peeled his shirt off an then reached into his pocket to remove whatever clutter was left there, a habit he'd hung onto from his previous "normal" life, when he'd reach in to retrieve some loose change, a gum, wrapper, a business card...

But on this occasion, his pocket held something completely different. Ignoring the pain in his side, he pulled out a brown pouch that hid two stones, a key, and a folded piece of paper.

_I take better pictures... smaller too, if you want one for your wallet._


	10. Rain Delays

**Title:** Rain Delays

**Summary:** Set during the three years off the island

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"what the hell?" was Jack's first reaction as he walked into the sweltering heat of their home. His jacket was instantly ripped off his shoulders and thrown to the ground and he was pulling painfully at his tie, in fear that if it stayed there a minute longer he might suffocate to death.

"yup, hell is exactly the right word to use," Kate retorted walking out of the kitchen. Her hair was a mess, bundled carelessly off her neck and shoulders. She was wearing a pair of very short shorts and a bikini top.

"you know, turning on the AC on the hottest day of the year is not such a bad idea Kate," Jack said, stripping down to stand in the middle of the living in just his pants. The weather forecast that morning had warned of the heat wave reaching it's peak, and the number of patients in the ER that day who came in with heat strokes was record breaking.

"very funny, Jack," Kate replied, wiping the sweat off her brow, " our lovely neighbors were doing some work and accidentally hit half the electric lines in the street. We've been like this for four hours. It should be fixed soon, or so they said... three hours ago."

"you're kidding me," Jack said. Having discarded of most of his clothing, standing in his boxer shorts now, he walked over to her, unable to not grin at how sexy she looked standing there. "I'm sticky," she joked as he brought his lips down to hers, the kiss ending up with him chuckling against her lips. "I like it when you're sticky," he said, and pecked her lips.

"So why aren't you somewhere else? You know, somewhere that does not have the same zip code as hell," he joked, picking up his mess of clothes.

"Come and see for yourself," she said as she headed towards the backyard, swaying her hips teasingly as she knew he could not stop staring. He followed her out and could not help but laugh.

The sprinklers were all on and Aaron was running around soaking wet in his Superman swimming trunks. A couple of water guns lying around.

"yay! Jack is here!" Aaron squealed running towards him, "mommy made rain in summer, Jack."

"yeah, I can see that, kiddo," Jack replied. And watched the kid run back into the fake rain.

"I'm kinda worried if he asks next to make the sun shine when it's raining," Kate joked.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kate," Jack replied, looking at her sincerely now. Kate's eyes met his questioningly, and he explained "you do that everyday for me."


	11. Paging Dr Shephard

**Title:** Paging Dr. Shephard

**Summary:** Set during the 3 years off island.

* * *

"OMG! It's Kate Austen?" the woman behind her squeals, snapping Kate out of her reverie, "you're Kate Austen, aren't you? one of the Oceanic 6!"

Kate blushes, hating the media attention that she and the other survivors have been getting recently, the unwanted fame that has been thrust upon them as heroes and warriors and survivors, especially as it comes with the burden of the lie and the guilt of leaving the others behind.

Kate had never in her life imagined she would be going around signing autographs or having to hide her face to avoid the paparazzi (well, at least it was better than to avoid the cops) or be called onto night time talk shows and photoshoots.

She smiles politely to the lady behind her in line and nods her head, praying that the group that has collected around her does not grow too much. She was just in the supermarket picking up a few things for her and Aaron, definitely not in a mood to turn this into another round to please your fans with autographs and pictures.

The ladies around her start firing the questions and she politely answers, trying as much as she can to remain friendly but also wanting to get out of there as soon. The line at the counter is very slowly and she wants to scream at the young lady at the cashier to speed it up.

The store manger senses her tensing up, and comes over to break up the crowd. Kate is grateful for her and thanks her with an appreciative nod.

The crowd breaks up but the eyes around the store don't leave Kate and the mumblings continue from all over the store. The actions of the store manager however leave Kate with the one lady behind her who was the first to notice her. And that woman is not done with the questions. However, hers seem not be be intrigued by the island adventures but by something else.

The lady asks her about her baby, Aaron, and how he is doing, and despite her exasperation, and need to protect the child, she cannot help but smile at the mention of "her son". She tells her that he is doing wonderfully and adjusting to life in civilization, as she pushes her groceries forward down the line.

The lady is silent for a few moments before she starts talking again.

"can I ask you one more question?" she says, and Kate is about to lose it but does not want to make a scene, so she just nods, clenching her jaw slightly.

"do you guys keep in touch, the oceanic 6?" she asks.

"we try to, yes, but mostly everyone is trying to get back to their normal lives," Kate answers.

"oh...ok," the lady says, but Kate can tell she is not done with the conversation.

Another few moments of silence and the lady speaks again, "so... do you see Dr. Shephard a lot?" the lady asks blushing slightly.

Kate smiles despite herself, having had one of these conversations a few times already, and it has become one of her favorite to tease jack with actually, "why do you ask?" Kate says, trying to stifle a giggle.

The blush on the lady's face is as clear as day, she bites her lower lip and says, "do you know if he's seeing someone? Does he have a girlfriend?"

Kate is working really hard on keeping her laughter to herself, she knows just how embarrassed Jack get with all the fangirls flailing for him every where he goes these days. She remembers him telling him just two days ago about the lady who came into the ER complaining of some weird pain and ended up throwing herself at him in the middle of ER. Security had to escort her out, and the hospital was taking special security measures to keep others like her out and away from the doctor.

"well, I am not sure if he is actually," Kate says, her insides reaching the point of pain with her attempts at not cracking up, "but if I were you, I'd go introduce myself to him," Kate says, enjoying the site of the woman's eyes almost popping out of her socket, "oooh, I couldn't!" the lady says, but Kate shakes her head and adds, "oh, no, you totally should! he spends most of his time at work, St. Sebastian's hospital, you know it? He would totally appreciate the effort, and who knows you might have a shot with him!"

The lady nods her head, so excited that Kate worries her head might fall off any minute. The lady starts thanking Kate profusely for her advice, and Kate just smiles and says, "oh it's no problem, good luck!" she adds with a little wink before she finally gets done with paying for her stuff and walking out the supermarket.

Jack and Aaron are waiting for her in the car. Aaron is in his car seat in the back and Jack sits at the wheel, tapping it in rhyme with the music playing. She smiles when she hears him singing along to "A Whole New World" and feels slightly guilty that she would only allow him to play Disney classics in the car when Aaron is with them. He tried to convince her that Nirvana can be just as educational, but she won that argument as well, just like it seems she wins all arguments these days. She thinks that now that they are finally together, she has a lot to offer (and threaten to take away) to make her win these arguments. She knows she can win almost any argument if she is wearing nothing more than a tight t-shirt and panties, or if she is nibbling at that specific point on his neck, or when she has him lying underneath her, naked, on their bed.

She gets into the car and places a quick peck on his lips.

"What took you so long?" he asks, getting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking garage.

She just smiles, an evil smirk in her eyes, "oh, just ran into a few "fans" in there, you know, the typical stuff,"

He reaches over and puts his hand on her thigh, rubbing lightly, knowing how much she hates the media attention, especially when at times it gets into the territory of her fugitive status, "I'm sorry," he says "was it too bad?"

"No, it was fine," she smiles, "just a bunch of nosy women asking about Aaron and stuff."

"ok, good," he says, smiling. His hand never leaving her thigh, and his fingers rubbing with a different agenda than just consoling her now.

She knows where he is going with his, and how with what he is doing he would soon be able to control her any way she wants.

She enjoys that power play between them, and this time she wants to take charge, so when his hand starts travelling higher, she has to make her move, "oh, and if you find a ditzy bottle blond in your office tomorrow, tell her I say hi," she says, breaking into a fit of giggle, when his jaw drops and his eyes pop out.

_Oh, it's gonna be a fun evening,_ she thinks to herself, knowing that he will be seeking revenge pretty soon.


	12. Passenger Seat

**Title:** Passenger Seat  
**Summary: ** title borrowed from Death Cab for Cutie. Set During the O6's time off the island

* * *

She wore a green sun dress and a pair of flip-flops. He looked more like his island self in an old pair of jeans and a worn out short-sleeve shirt, the top buttons left open.

She let her hair loose as he opened the sun roof. She giggled when a a few strands blew unto her face and tickled the tip of her nose. He looked to his right, smiled and reached over to tuck them behind her ear. He left his hand linger as his thumb slowly stroked her cheek. She took his hand in hers, brought it to her lips and kissed the back of his hand.

They drove the country road, the setting sun painting the horizon with shades of red and yellow, remnant of sunsets on the island and evening spent talking about past, presents and new beginnings they all needed.

He had promised he would try, and she had promised they would take it at his own pace. She knew how hard it hit him learning about Claire and Aaron. And although they both knew that there was an easy way of dealing with it, neither was ready to let go just yet.

She looked over to her left and saw him smiling, singing softly along with whatever was playing on his beat up old jeep's radio. It sent butterflies through her stomach and a smile to her face seeing him so relaxed and content; seeing a smile on his face that had been absent for months. She reached over and ran her finger through his over grown buzz cut, her fingers dancing around the back of his neck, as they both sang along out of tune and missing half the words. But none of that mattered. Not for now at least.


	13. Dip in the Shallow End

**Title:** Dip in the Shallow End  
**Summary: **They've been on the Searcher just a handful of hours, Kate goes looking for Jack when he doesn't join the group for dinner. Set after TNPLH.

* * *

Kate made her way up to deck looking for Jack when he hadn't joined them for dinner. They'd been on the Searcher just over six hours, Penny had arranged for them to share two of the spare crew cabins and helped Kate and Sun to her wardrobe to pick out something to change into. They'd washed up and rested a while before they were led to dinner. Jack, Sayid, Desmond and Penny had disappeared almost immediately and spent most of the time discussing what story they will have to tell the real world.

She found him leaning against the edge, his arms resting on the railing, his hands clasped. She walks towards him, taking him in, his shoulders sagged, his head dropped and his eyes closed.

She took her place beside him silently, mimicking his posture, her eyes fixed on him. Her arm brushed against his and she nudged his shoulder lightly. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her, giving her a small, tired smile.

"Hey," she said, returning his smile.

"Hey," he whispered back. His smile grew and he turned back to stare into the distance. She studied him. He'd showered but she was glad he hadn't shaved his scruff. He was in a new shirt, borrowed from one of the crew members. It was a short sleeve button down shirt, slightly oversized and apparently missing the first few buttons. The wind blew and the shirt flapped against his body, and it was then that she saw the small fresh red stain on his right side. He was still bleeding or whatever he had called it, she thought to herself.

With her right hand on his arm, she turns him around until they are standing face to face. His smile gone, replaced by a questioning look and she shakes her head at him. She shifts her eyes towards the stain and brings her left hand to his waist.

"Jack, you're still bleeding, you said –"she said, her voice a mixture of worry and accusation.

"Kate," he interrupted, taking her hand off his waist and holding it in his between them, "it's ok, I promise, it's healing normally, considering the circumstances," he chuckled slightly, "it's fine."

He spoke confidently, not breaking her gaze. He squeezed her hand and let it fall to her side. He returned his hand to the railing and looked back out towards the ocean," it's fine," he repeated.

She shook her head, exasperated. With her right hand holding on to his left arm, she asked, her voice barely over a whisper, "are you?"

He turned back to look at her, and she dropped her head, closing her eyes. He pulled his arm out of her grip and brought it around her shoulder. He turned them around bringing her between him and the edge of the ship. He brought his arms to rest on the railing while her hands gripped it between where his arms lay. She felt his warmth behind her and let herself press back against his chest. She relaxed against him, closing her eyes and forgetting for that one moment that she had just been annoyed by his stubbornness.

He brought his head down, breathing in her freshly washed hair. His warm breath against the cool evening breeze on her neck sending shivers down her spine. He rested his forehead against her shoulder and took her left hand in his.

"I've never been better," he whispered against her neck pulling her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist as she brought her hand up running her fingers through his hair.


	14. Flu Season

**Title:** Flu Season

**Summary:** Slightly AU, set on island a few years in the future. Everyone is alive.

* * *

Jack sometimes wishes he was still working 14 hour shifts in the hospital, under his father's watchful eye and scrutiny instead of being the only doctor to a small community of 40+ crash survivors. Sure, Juliet is there, but she's a "ladies doctor" and sort of on sabbatical, much to Jack's annoyance.

She does help occasionally when things become too much, especially during allergy season, or when the hypochondriac hears of a new disease (he recently was convinced he was going through menopause).

Jack shuffles down the beach checking on the different survivals after a nasty outbreak of flu that had most of them bedridden for the past week. He had miraculously been immune to it (was it a miracle or a curse that he was the only when left healthy and on his feet, he was not so sure).

Charlie sits outside his tent, trying a new technique of signing old Drive Shaft favorites with his new cough ridden voice, and only quiets down when Sawyer calls from across the beach and Jack can't contain his laugh when he hears "SHUT UP, PHOEBE!"

He's glad to see Claire and Aaron have both improved significantly and seem to have over come the bug completely. They sit next to Charlie and Claire is pointing at her notebook, as Aaron mumbles the alphabet between adorably gapped teeth. Ever since they'd learned they were siblings (thanks to Juliet confessing when Claire needed a blood transfusion a while back), they have become very close, getting to know each other and both finally having some form of a loving family.

Aaron launches himself at Jack, and his uncle is more than excited to lift the boy off the ground and into the air, teasingly ignoring Claire's gasp for air as she watches her son thrown a good half meter into the air.

Jack puts down Aaron and the little boy starts blabbing on and on about how he has learned the alphabets up to H, and starts naming things that start with the letter. He starts with Hurley and mentions Sullivan the Hypochondriac and the Hick Sawyer. Jack cracks up laughing and Charlie joins in, whereas Claire's eyes widen with bewilderment and she takes her son to side for a little lecture on what words should and should not be said aloud.

Next on his rounds is Sawyer, and while they have recently become more civil around each other, Jack is not exactly excited about visiting the fussy version of Sawyer. When he is sick, especially with a bug, Sawyer's level of tolerance hits a whole new low. Fortunately, Jack find Juliet already there, and Jack gets a little snicker from Sawyer as he approaches him and is glad that visit is cut short when Sawyer says, "thanks but no thanks, Doc. I got my own physician taking care of me today".

Hurley, his right hand man, and only other person in camp to have been miraculously flu-free, comes back to camp early afternoon, and Jack is grateful the big guy cut his date with Libby short to give him some time to relax and grab some lunch.

Jack makes it to his tent and decides to lie down for a bit before grabbing some lunch, and before he knows it, his moment of rest turns into a long afternoon nap.

The sun had started its dip into the horizon when Kate makes it back to the beach. The recent flu outbreak had given her a good excuse to stray away from camp every day without jack being constantly worried about her being too far. He was really busy all day with everyone else to keep a constant eye on her, and she used the excuse of not wanting to catch the bug as a way to wander out of camp.

"ouff!" Jack grunts as he is woken up by a soft weight falling onto his stomach, and soft giggles coming from next to him in the tent. Before he can open his eyes completely and adjust to the warm light come through the flaps, a pair of chubby hands grab his face, as his daughter changes her position from sitting on his stomach to lying on his chest, and she squeezes his face between her small hands and says, "daddy? are you thleeping?"

Jack lets out a soft chuckle and tries to speak, but his daughter is squeezing his cheeks hard and all that comes out is "nnmmffhmo".

Kate lets out a hearty laugh and lifts her daughter off of Jack to let him pulls himself of the bed. He's finally on his feet and leans in to steal a kiss from Kate and another from their daughter.

"did you eat anything today?" she asks Jack when she realizes he has that "I've been working all day I forgot I was human" tired look on his face.

"hmmm... not yet. I was planning to but it seems I fell asleep," he answers, rubbing the back of his head, giving her an innocent smile, hoping his puppy dog eyes will get him off the hoof of ignoring his own well being.

Kate just shakes his head at him, knowing that if it weren't for her forcing him to take care of himself, he would have overworked himself to death long ago.

"alright, I'm dropping Sammy off at Sun and Jin's for the rest of the afternoon, you mister will march right out to the pantry, get us something to eat and meet me back here in 15 minutes. understood?"

Jack nods and says "yes, ma'am", loving the bossy part of her, and excited about spending a few hours alone with his wife.

Kate meets up with his in he pantry as he is ready to get back to their tent with a nice big bowl of fruits.

"hey," he says when she walks up to him, and he puts the bowl back down on the table and kisses her.

She smiles, "I just saw you ten minutes ago."

"well, I didn't get to greet you properly then," he answers.

"oh, in that case you're gonna have to do better than that?" she replies playfully.

He smiles at her and pulls her into a long lingering kiss, that starts to become slightly more passionate than is appropriate for the pantry. They break the kiss, both slightly breathless and pretend not to notice Rose's slightly disapproving stare.

They giggle and quickly grab the bowl of fruit and hurry to their tent.

She sits in his lap as they share the bowl of fruit between them. She asks him about his day but he prefers to hear about hers instead.

"well, Sammy and I learned new words today," Kate starts, trying to maintain her focus on retelling the day's events with Jack's fingers lazily playing against her skin.

"we learned friend, or fyend as she says it, and we know that Ji Yeon is Sammy's fyend," she says, pausing slightly when Jack's fingers dangerously start finding their way to the space between where her shirt meets her jeans.

"we also learned cousin, or couthin, and that Aayon ith Thammy'th couthin," Kate says, giggling as she mimics her daughter's pronunciation.

Jack chuckles slightly, his lips on her neck, and his vibrating breath send a tickle down her skin. She is slowly losing concentration as Jack's hands continue their exploration, assisted now by his lips, languidly kissing and nibbling at her neck.

"and we also learned sister," she continues, her voice now breaking and cracking between the actual words she is trying to say and the moans that are involuntarily escaping her lips.

"and we know that Claire is daddy's sister," she manages to say before her breath becomes too labored, with Jack's hands finding their destination under her shirt and his lips sucking, not so gently, at the base of her neck.

She is not sure how much he had paid attention to, but his lip travel back up her neck and are at her ear when he whispers, "how about we work on giving our own daughter a sister too?" causing her to gasp and turn into putty in his hands.


	15. Summer Skin

**Title: **Summer Skin  
**Summary: **Set post TNPLH, off island, after the meeting in the airport.

* * *

He missed her freckles. It was not like they were not there anymore, except that in the handful of times he had seen her – she had _agreed_ to see him – in the past two months, he had noticed how they were slowly fading away. He had noticed when a single tear trickled down her face – once sprinkled with freckles, now pale and tired – as she whispered painfully that going back will not change anything.

He had realized a long time ago that her freckles would pop out more when she spends long hours in the sun. He remembered the first time he had become aware of that, the afternoon in their living room having put an exhausted Aaron to bed after a long day at the beach. He remembered how he spent that afternoon counting her freckles, placing soft, light kisses on each one of them, as she giggled in his arms, sitting on his lap, her tanned bare legs by his hips.

He missed her freckles. And he knows that that he needs her back in the sun again, he needs her running down the beach again. He needs her to go back with him because he knows that what he needs more than anything is to count her freckles again, every night.


	16. A Lack of Color

**Title:** A Lack of Color  
**Summary:** Set post TNPLH, off island after the meeting at the airport. A companion piece to Summer Skin (previous chapter)

* * *

She'd always thought of her freckles as a curse.

When she was four, she decided that she hated them because all of her mother's friends would pinch her cheeks and tell her she looked just like a pretty little doll. She hated dolls.

When she was eight, she had learned that a few hours in the park, climbing trees and running around with Tom were the answer. By the end of the day, those damn freckles were safely buried under the layers of sweat and dirt, only to have her mother spend an hour in the evening scrubbing them off, mumbling stuff about tomboys and unladylike behavior.

When she was fifteen, she would shove Tom off the track as they ran laps when he would tease her that unless she decided to start wearing skirts and dresses, those freckles were the only thing that made her look girly.

When she was sixteen, she blushed shyly, dressed in her only dress, as she opened the door for Tom. Her freckles this time buried under layers of make up because according to her mother she couldn't go to Homecoming without make up, or in a pair of jeans.

At twenty three, she felt her blood burn with anger when she looked across the room at her mother's drunk boyfriend, passed out on the couch, and realized who she had gotten those freckles from.

Forty two minutes after leaving him at the airport, she stood in her room, watching her reflection in the mirror. Wiping away the tears, she noticed her skin was paler than it had ever been, and her freckles barely a shadow of what they once were. She knew that all she needed were a few hours in the sun and her freckles would be as visible as they were during those months on the island. She smiled sadly as she remembered the day he found out that little fact. She remembered how she spent the afternoon in his lap, his hands on her waist, his thumbs dangerously rubbing circles on the bare skin under her shirt, as he kissed each one of her freckles. She remembered how she laughed as he explained that each of her freckles was unique and that he was planning to spend the afternoon getting to know every single one of them.

She wiped a tear away and decided she misses her freckles. She knows that she needs to spend more time outdoors, in the sun, because what she needs more than anything is for Jack to meet them again.


	17. David

**Title: David**

(Inspired by Reba McEntire's "He Gets That From Me". I swear I was listening to it and thought of Kate and her son and I almost started crying at work)

* * *

His hair is soft and brown, and it sticks to his sweaty forehead as he skips on the pavement on their way back from the park. He is stubborn and a little too smart for his own good. But when he sets his mind to something, he against it done every time. He sits and sulks in the corner of his room, hangs his arms on his knees and drops his head against his chest. He clenches his jaw and his brow knots when he concentrates on something too hard. When he laughs, his laughter fills the room. And he has a smile that spreads to his eyes and lights up the darkest of nights.

He has freckles on his and nose and scraped knees because he sends every afternoon climbing trees in the park. He doesn't eat meat but has his first sip of coffee when he is seven years old. He runs faster than anyone in his class but lost the track meet because he gave up his lead to help little Marc from down the street who tripped after the first few meters and twisted his ankle.

He wonders why they have a piano in the house if no one plays it. He teaches himself and has his first recital two months later.

He looks up at her with sweet, pleading brown eyes and says, "mommy, can you tell me the story again?" Kate takes his hand in hers and starts at the very beginning, with the very first "excuse me."


	18. Walls

**Title: Walls**

(Set during I Do)

* * *

The thin sheet of clear glass has suddenly become a ten foot concrete wall. His legs are heavy but he needs to step back, to step away. Her sobs rip through him, and he wants nothing more than to crash through that wall and hold her, wrap her in his arms, wipe her tears away and promise her that everything will be fine. But all that he can hear is that one word. Two syllables,

_Sawyer._

He tastes the sour liquid flood through him and he feels the pain as the first crack makes its way across his heart.

He turns away from her, and with a deep breathe, he knows what to do, the only decision he knows how to take.

He turns back to her and starts rebuilding the walls; the wall he'd always kept firmly around his heart, protecting himself, the wall that this woman has been breaking down, piece by piece, from the moment she joked about the color of a thread.


	19. Miracles

**Title: Miracles**

(Set during TTLG)

* * *

She never believed in miracles. She remembers the first few days after the crash, almost everyone was saying one thing or another about their surviving the crash being a miracle. Even Sayid had hinted at it, but she'd laughed off his implication of some sort of divine intervention.

She was a cynic. She knew it. She had every reason to be. Her life was an evidence list that there were no such things as miracles.

But as she watches him walk away form her, his words still echoing through her, she feels an odd warmth wrap around her and she thinks that maybe miracle do exist. She thinks it has to be a miracle when a person looks at her, broken, messed, homicidal, a catastrophe waiting to happen, and mean it when he says,

_Because I love you._


	20. Some Sort Of Destiny

**Title: Some Sort of Destiny**

(Set around SNBH)

* * *

She is not made for taco nights and long bubble baths in the early afternoon. She is not destined for mornings in the park, watching toddlers play in the sand box.

She is not meant for motherhood and packing peanut butter sandwiches in Spiderman lunchboxes. She is definitely not supposed to be wearing pencil skirts and going to PTA meetings.

But when that little blonde boy calls her "mommy" and curls up in her lap as they watch cartoons, she starts having her doubts about these preconceptions.

When Jack wraps his arms around her, when she rests her head against his chest, listening as his heart beats in rhythm with hers, and when he wakes her up with gentle kisses on her warm skin, she believes that all that she had refused before is exactly what she is meant for. That is when she truly believes in destiny.


	21. New Habits

**Set between Eggtown and SNBH. Off island.**

**New Habits**

She wakes up to his strong arms wrapped around her tightly, his warm body cocooned around hers. She turns in his embrace and nuzzles his neck, buries her face his chin and plants feather light kisses from his jaw to his ear. She smiles against his stubble when he mumbles sleepily and pulls her closer against him. She pulls back and watch him lazily flutter his eyes open.

"Morning'" he says softly, smiling at her.

She smiles back and pulls him down to her, drowning him is a slow, passionate kiss. They pull apart, out of breath, and she rests against his shoulder.

"I think I can get used to this," he says, running his fingers gently through her hair.

She cannot believe she'd heard him right, so she pulls back up, resting her hands on his chest to look at him, and says, "really?"

She bites her lower lip slightly, scared that she might have heard him wrong, that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. He reads the worry in her eyes, and he does not blame her. He leans down, pressing his lips gently to hers for a quick kiss and says, "really."

She smiles, beams, and turn towards the bed side table to pull something out of the drawer before turning back to face him, clutching something in her hand.

"I was hoping you would say that," she says, opening her hand to reveal a little shiny key. The key to her house, to her home, her family, her heart.


	22. The Surprise

**Set in the Afterlife. **

**This is for the two Italian girls ;)**

The Surprise

He wakes up and the house is empty. Her side of the bed is surprisingly cold, as though she's been out of it for hours. He goes to the window and looks outside; the sun is high in the sky, the white sands shimmering and the wind blowing softly across the beach. He gets some coffee and walks out to the front porch. The little table they had set out the night before still sitting where they'd left it, covered with the small white tablecloth they'd laid out, the two plates, the candles and the wine glasses they'd poured to have with dinner.

The dinner they'd spent hours preparing, not because it was complicated, but because they spent more time making out in the kitchen than they did cooking. The dinner that they also did not touch because the idea of making love on the porch in the cool evening was more interesting than eating dinner.

He is surprised she didn't put it all away before she left to where ever it was she has gone to. It was not unlike her to do such unexpected things, but leaving the house untidy was surprisingly quite unlike her. He takes a few sips of his coffee before he sets the mug down and walks down to the beach.

He steps into the water, until it is covering just above his ankles and watches the waves come in and his feet sink deeper. The water is warm and inviting and he wishes she were there. He would talk her into going for a swim together, in the deep waters. She would strip down to her panties and bra but he would take it all off and swim away quickly, daring her to do the same. And she would, she always did.

They would swim as far as they would go, until they were too tired to swim any further. She would wrap her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist and let him carry them both. He would keep them afloat for a while, they would talk a bit but soon she would have latched her lips onto his neck and he'd be struggling to remain focused on trying not to drown. He would manage to get them back to shore, barely out of the water, when she would be trapped under him, and it would be his turn to make her moan.

He hears a car pull up in their drive way and he turns around to see a small pick up truck parking next to their house. He is shocked to see her jumping out of the driver's seat. There is something in the back, covered up so he cannot make out what it is. Desmond comes out of the seat next to her and helps her unload the truck. She does not see him down the beach, and just watches her. She signals to Desmond to stay quiet and Jack loves the look on her face, the glimmer she gets in her eyes when she is doing something to surprise him.

He waits for them to push the load into the house when he walks in behind them sneakily. Desmond is unwrapping the object when he walks in and she is standing with her back to the entrance.

"You think he'll like it?" he hears her say. "Of course he will," Desmond answers her.

"you guys are gonna be here around six, right?" she asks and Desmond nods, still working on the bubblewrap.

"Ok, I'm gonna get him out of the house for Claire and Juliet to prepare everything, and once everyone is here, just give me a call, and I will get us home," she said excitedly, "he will be so surprised!"

His heart almost stopped at the sound of her voice, her excitement to plan a surprise for his birthday, and just when he thought he could not love her anymore, she does something like this.

He decides he will not ruin it for her (he had found out last year that she was planning a surprise and was devastated when she knew he knew) so he walks back up the stairs and into bed, pretending he was asleep the whole time, and waits for her to come and wake him up.


	23. Missing Him

**Missing Him**

**Kate's POV. Post The End...**

**

* * *

**

I sit on the beach alone, the sand warm and tickling my skin. I watch the sun settle across the horizon, bidding it's final farewell before it leaves, making way for the cool evening to take its place. I sit alone and I long for him, long for his presence next to me. I long for his strong arm to wrap around my waist as we watch the sun take its final dip into the dark ocean. I want his arms around me, to rest my head against his shoulder, to melt my body into his.

I sink my toes into the wet sand and think of the past month, a month that I have spent without him. The longest month I have ever known. A month that has so many changes. I remember the first morning I woke up feeling sick, the long days I spent tired and feeling spent just by walking from the bed to the bedroom door. My hand travels to my stomach, to where I know our child is growing. My fingers travel lightly against my skin and I cannot help imagine what it would feel to have his fingers there, his hand pressing gently against me, to have him protect our child that grows inside me. I close my eyes, listening to the early evening breeze and the birds welcoming the moon, and I imagine my family, my child, and Jack, the father of my child, the love of my life.

I have not said the word yet, at least I have not said it out loud. I cannot imagine myself saying it to anyone else but him, to tell him we have made life together, that inside my body is a child made from our love. I imagine the look on his face, will he be shocked? scared? excited? I giggle to myself slightly, he will definitely be worried, watching my every step, watching every bite I eat, and trying to stop me from climbing trees and running around.

The breeze gets colder and I shudder, wrapping my arms around myself trying to keep warm. It would never feel cold if he was here. He would pull me closer against him, wraps his arms tighter against my body and I would drown in his warmth.

I take one last look towards the ocean before getting up, hearing Jack's voice in my head, calling for me to get out of the cold and into the house. I get lost in the sight before me and to the memory of his voice playing in my head that I don't hear the footsteps behind me. I jump, startled when I feel a body settling behind me.

He chuckles warmly, and it dances beautifully against skin, his hands settle on my hips holding me still, and he whispers a most casual "hey", brushing my hair aside to plant a kiss against the back of my neck. I turn around swiftly, too excited to control my actions, I hurl myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck, pushing back into the sand.

My lips find his instantly, and he kisses me back just as passionately, hurriedly. The kiss is urgent, needy, and I know he has missed me just as much I have missed him. My body is sprawled on top of his, his hands roaming all over my back. My hands are in his hair, God, how I have missed him! We pull apart, out of breath. And while I try to compose myself, he continues to plant kisses all over my jaw, my neck, my shoulders...

I push up, my hands on his chest, "you're back."

He laughs and pushes up to capture my lips in his again, pulling, sucking and I am dizzy again.

I break the kiss again and this time he groans. I slap him gently, "I've missed you," I say. He nods, his hand coming up to brush my hair away from my cheek, and I barely hear him whisper "I've missed you too" before his lips are on my neck again.

"Was you're mother too pissed that I didn't visit with you?" I say, barely keeping my words coherent, now that his hands have made their way under my shirt, his warm hands teasing my cool skin, his thumbs brushing seductively below my breasts. He pulls back, pulling his hands out and rests them on my hips, pushing me against him, and this time, it is my turn to groan.

"You want to talk about my mom?" he says, raising an eyebrow at me, "now?"

I bite my lip and push my hips against him, earning a grunt from him and he closes his eyes. My lips travel along his neck and land below his ear, I nibble gently and say, "no, but I do need to tell you something."

* * *

**...in the Afterlife! Jack was just visiting his parents for a while!**

**Leave me a review if you wanna yell at me for being mean ;)**

**Oh and here is the thing. This chapter is #23 which makes it extra special. And this fic has 92 reviews so far, if it reaches 100 with this chapter, there might be a special treat for you guys!  
**


	24. Telling Him

Alright, here they are! Special treat number 1! This one goes to **Franci** who requested afterlife fic, and I figured I would just right a part 2 for chapter 23. Enjoy!

Btw, **aileen**, **snoflake** and **a**, you guys reviewed the last chapter, so you get a special treat. If you can just PM me or send a review here as to what you want (any prompt, idea, request/non-smut) and I'll try to give it a shot!

**Telling Him**

I almost forget what it is I want to tell him when his hands find their way back under my shirt, warm against my cold skin, travelling dangerously, and my breath hitches in my throat. Somehow he has turned us around, my body now trapped under his.

My shirt has been discarded in the process and his fingers wrestle with the buttons of my jeans; the cool white sand tickles my bare back, as his lips leave a wet, warm trail along my chest, travelling down until they reach their destination. It's a frenzied mixture of lips, teeth and tongue, and he is driving me crazy. I try to hold on to something, anything, but the sand particles just seep between my fingers. I finally get a hold of his hair, pulling, hanging on as he takes me closer and closer to the edge. And when I tumble over, he is their to catch me, as eh always is. My cries silenced by the echo of waves crashing at our feet, and by his mouth, devouring mine and swallowing my pleasure.

I open my eyes to see his beautiful hazel orbs have turned a dark shade, full of lust and want and need. I raise a hand to his face; caressing his stubbled cheek, _Let's go back to the house,_ I whisper.

He shakes his head, and leans in to capture my lips in his again, _No_, he says when we pull apart, _I need you now. _His voice is coated with so much desire, so much raw need, that I can only nod, my own voice lost in the onslaught of passion, watching rise to sit on his knees, keeping my body trapped under his, as he pulls off his shirt and quickly gets to discarding his own pants.

Morning comes with our bodies still entangled on the warm beach, tired bodies, glistening with a thin sheath of sweat. He is on his back as I lie on top of him, my head on his chest, our legs wrapped around each other. He has one hand around his waist and the other buried in my curls.

He wakes up first and I follow him quickly, feeling him shift slightly below me. I push up, pulling him into a lazy, morning kiss until we are both out of breath.

_So_, he says,_ what is it?_

_What's what? _I mumble, my head back on his chest.

_You said you had something to tell me_, he says back.

_Oh_, I say, _that's right, I do._

I convince him that we need to be dressed for this (actually I prefer we stay like this, the intimacy of it all fits perfectly – but to be honest I am slightly anxious about his reaction, and I would handle it better if we were both dressed).

I take his hand and lead him back to the house. We sit on the front steps and I take his hand in mine, bringing it up to my lips and kissing it gently. His finger touches my cheek lightly.

I look up at him, smiling, and I think there could be a tear in my eye because it suddenly gets blurry. He just watches me, waiting. I chuckle lightly, wiping quickly at my eye, and for the first time since I have known it, I say the words out loud, _I'm pregnant._

And the tears fall freely now, as I watch his face light up, with joy, with disbelief, and his own tears are streaming down his face, across his smiling lips and he pulls me into his lap, wrapping me in his embrace, with our child nestled warmly between us.


	25. Remnants

Special treat #2. This one goes to **Cinzia**, who did not know what to ask for, so I decided to surprise her (and make her cry)

* * *

**Remnants**

She can never come close to explaining just how happy she is that Claire and Aaron decided to live with her, the house would have been too big, too empty for her to live in it alone. Claire is her best friend, her sister, and Aaron has managed to go through the transition of being her son to being her nephew comfortably.

The house is lively, a happy place with laughter and joy in every corner. Between the three of them the house has become a different place, the same place where a happy family lives, but it is no longer the house where she lived with Jack and Aaron as a family. She believes that is what moving on means, and it is what he would have wanted. She embraces that, embraces her family, her new life, the life that his sacrifice, their sacrifice, made possible and takes every day with a smile.

But she has not erased him from her life, far from it. He is still there, living in every vein of her body, breathing through every fiber of her. And when she walks into their bathroom and does not find his shaving cream on the shelf, she locks the door and cries for as long as her housemates would let her. When she opens her closet to grab something comfortable for the evening, and does not find a shirt of his, she collapses onto the bed and cries herself to sleep.

When it becomes too hard to handle, and her chest tightens with every breath she takes, and every word that escapes her lips is woven with a sob, she grabs her keys and leaves the house. She drives the short distance to his apartment, the apartment she bought as soon as she came back, the apartment she kept intact, just the way he had left it.

That is where he is, where he still is. His apartment, the place they shared their last night together, a night she wishes more than anything to go back to, and make him understand that it was more than she led him to believe, that she needed him, wanted him because only he could ever make her feel whole, the only one who could ever make her feel, at all.

She goes to his apartment and find him in every corner, on every piece of furniture, his smell, his voice, his warmth, still fill the entire place and she allows herself in that moment to drown in it all.

Everything is just the way he left it. She had finished the laundry he had left behind and folded it back into his closet. She cleaned the coffee mugs and plates and put them back in place. She walks into the house and the first thing she does is breathe him in, walk into his bedroom, lay in his bed and wait until the sobs quiet down. She goes into his closet grabs a shirt and changes into it. She goes through his CD's and turns on some music. She always hated the music he listened to but she does not seem to mind it anymore. Actually, she craves it.

She walks into the kitchen and makes a pot of coffee, pouring two cups every time, one for her and one for him (she will later on pour the contents of the second cup down the sink as her tears stream down her face and she yells at him for wasting a good cup of coffee).

She goes through his books and magazines, mostly medical journals and textbooks. She listens to his answering machine message over and over, until she can no longer hear the words over the sound of her own sobs.

She sits at his piano. She cannot play but the longer she sits, the easier it becomes for her to start hearing him play. If she closes her eyes, she can feel him sitting next to her on the bench, she would lean into him, and sway with the sweet melody his talented fingers would play. She would sink into him and into the beautiful music that would fill the house.

She starts talking to him, nothing specific, just telling him about her day, about Aaron and Claire. Sometimes, she would start reminiscing about times on the island; she would tease him about how she had beaten him at golf. She would talk to him about her life now, without him, how happy she is with Claire and Aaron in her life, how grateful she is to be part of this beautiful family, his family.

She cries as she tells him how lonely she is without him, how hard it is to make it through every day knowing that he won't be there to wrap his arms around her as she goes to sleep, how hard it is to wake up every morning, knowing he won't be waiting for her in the kitchen, with a hot cup of coffee and a lazy morning kiss. She cries as she whispers how much she has missed him.

And sometimes, he starts talking back. He'd be leaning against the door-frame, his tall, lean body standing right in front of her. He would cock his head and offer and innocent smile, and he would tell her that she will be just fine. He would tell her how proud he is of her, of the woman she has become. He would thank her for taking care of his sister and nephew. He would beg of her to move on with her life, to try to be happy. He would walk over to her, kneel down in front of her and take her hands in his. He would brings them up to his lips, kiss each one gently, and then drop them softly into her lap. His fingers would tenderly caress her face, like he had done thousands of time, travelling back to wrap in her brown curls. He would kiss her foreheads, wipe her tears and promise her that they will see each other again.

And then he would be gone again, the music in the house will be silenced and she knows it would be time for her to go back to her house.


	26. A Long Night

Special treat #3. This chapter is for **Starry** **Ocean**, who requested drunk Jack, Kate and Sawyer. I hoe you enjoy it!

This is set on island, somewhere maybe around s2… without all the canon that happened in s2. They did find the hatch, and they're just … living on the island ;)

**

* * *

A Long Night**

**Jack's POV**

"Are we there yet?" Sawyer's voice is like nails on a chalkboard to my ears, and he has not shut up since we left the beach, "are you even sure you're on the right way?"

Did he even have to come? No one made him. I just passed by the beach to tell them that I am going on a hike to find a Dharma station that the French woman had drawn on her map. But then, of course, Kate had to say she is coming along too because Kate cannot miss out on a good hike into the heart of darkness. I admit, the thought of going on a three, four day hike with Kate sounded great, but then Sawyer had to butt in. When does he ever join on these kind of hikes? Wouldn't he rather be sunbathing on the beach or something?

"No one asked you to come, James," I say, enjoying the glare of annoyance at using his real name.

"Well, doc, I would not have Freckles and you out her in the middle of the jungle doing God knows what," he smirks and I fight the urge to turn around I punch him, "some one has to keep an eye on two lovebirds."

"Shut up, James," Kate's voice is exasperated as she pushes ahead of him.

"Jack," she says, walking next to me now, and I can feel her warm, sweaty arm brush against mine, "it is getting dark, do you think we should set up camp for the evening?"

"Well, according to Rousseau's map, the station should be just around that cluster of trees over there," I saw pointing towards the trees just ahead of us, "if we don't find it, then' we'll make camp there and pick this up in the morning."

She nods in approval and picks up the pace, ignoring Sawyer's annoyed muttering behind us.

**Kate's POV**

Fortunately, the station is just where the map said it would be. And it was especially lucky for Jack because Sawyer looked like he was ready to hit him. We stare for a while at the symbol at the door. It is the typical Dharma octagon with a trapezoid in the middle.

"What the hell is it supposed to be?" Sawyer chimes in from my left.

"Well, according to the notes it says _bouchon," _Jack says, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Which means?..." Sawyer trails off.

"No idea," both Jack and I say in unison, and share a quick smile. I feel my cheeks turn red and I pray that Sawyer didn't see that because I could not live with another of his taunting.

"I knew we shoulda brought Sticks along with us," Sawyer smirked, and the three of us laugh at the idea of Shannon leaving the beach and actually doing something.

"Let's check this place out, then," Jack says as he pushes the doors open.

We separate and look around the station, checking to see if we could find any supplies, food, clothes… anything that could be useful back on the beach. I am looking in what appears to be an office, with stacks of paper with notes and inventory, all in French, appropriately, when I hear Sawyer squeel. Yes, he fucking squeels in what I hope is a sound of happiness.

"What was that?" Jack says, running quickly down the hall towards the source of the sound.

"I think it was Sawyer," I say, catching up behind him.

We reach the room that Sawyer is standing in, and we see him in the middle of a large dark room, his jaw is somewhere next to his knees in astonishment, his wide open.

"What is it," Jack says as he reaches the middle of the room and turns towards what Sawyer is looking at. Sawyer says nothing, and instead Jacks gasps loudly and let's out a breathless ".GOD!"

**Sawyer's POV**

I never in a million years would have thought that one day I would echo John Locke's words, but here I stand and all I can think is "THIS PLACE IS A MIRACLE!"

Before me is a sight that would bring the mightiest of men to their knees. Dharma sure knew what they were doing on this island. The trapezoid on the door now makes a lot of sense. This is the Cork Station. As in bottle cork. As in thousands and thousands and thousands of wine bottles.

I slam my hand against the doc's back. This was definitely worth the day long trek.

The doc looks like a twelve year old seeing his first pair of D-cup breasts. And I guess I must look the same. Freckles is slightly less amused, but she'll come around. Tonight is going to be one hell of an evening.

Two hours later and each of us is surrounded with more empty bottles than we can count. Even the typically conservative and uptight doctor Shephard is giggling like a fool as he tosses his forth bottle onto the couch.

"Let's play a game," I declare, and Jack shakes his head, and Kate argues, "I'm not playing I never with you again!"

"No, not I never," I reply, "Truth or Dare."

Somehow Jack agrees to my plan, and I come to the realization that I like Jack, when he's drunk.

Kate gives up her argument and decides to go first.

"Sawyer, truth or dare?" she says, and I feel like a challenge, so I ask for a dare.

She giggles loudly, and says, "I dare you to walk across the table without falling off."

I look towards the table she is pointing to, and I am sure there is something wrong with that table. It is fucking dancing across the room! It takes me a good minute to actually stand on it, and two steps later I fall flat on face. Lucking we put mattresses on the floor for the evening. I land graciously, millimeters from the doc's thigh, and he slaps me away like I'm a fruit fly attacking his lunch.

The game goes on for a while, mostly with truth questions because we are all too drunk to get to our feet. For the record, the doc had his first kiss when he was twelve with a fifteen year old girl, lost his virginity at seventeen and his favorite band is Nirvana. Kate on the other hand, had her first kiss at six! Although she says t doesn't count, but to that I say, bullshit! They all count. She lost her virginity at twenty and her favorite musician is Patsy Cline.

Kate does not handle her liquor well and neither does Jack apparently. I, on the contrary am still very much sober. The evening is fantastic to be honest, except for the yodeling unicorn. That son of a bitch just won't shut up.

I get bored of the truth questions and want to move back to dares. I get no argument from Kate or Jack. One of them is busy arguing with the pillow about tax laws, and the other is singing mother goose songs.

"Freckles, I dare you to take off your shirt," I proclaim loudly, and her face turns into a brighter shade of red than it already is.

"NUH UH!" she says, folding her arms tightly over her chest. Jack's giggling on the other side of the mattress, and that big tough guy giggles like a little girl.

"Come on, Freckles! I wanna see boobies!" I say, pouting adorably, I might add.

Jack keeps looking between the two of us, and I can see he wants the same thing too.

"Freckles, Doc wants to see boobies too, are you gonna deny that pretty face?" I argue my case and the doc's eyes widen in shock.

"What? I said nothing!" he claims but the look in his eyes, staring at Kate's breasts, says something else.

Kate grabs my backpack and pulls out a magazine and throws it at me, "here, you can stare at all the boobies you want," as the Playboy lands in my lap. I take a moment to enjoy the cover before tossing it to Jack.

"Ok, Jacky-boy, your turn," I say, "I dare you to kiss Kate. On. The. Lips."

It is the doc's turn to turn another shade of red as he tries to stumble with a reply.

I am pretty sure who will try to find a way out of it, but instead, he slides over towards Kate, whose eyes widen in shock. Jack ducks his head quickly and plants a quick, chaste kiss on Kate's lips.

"oh, come on! That was pathetic! I kiss my grandmother more passionately!" I say, and the pair looks at me bewildered. "Kiss her like you mean it, man!"

Did I just encourage Jack to kiss Freckles passionately? Freckles? And Doc? No, no that's just wrong. They won't do it. Plus, Jack is too uptight to make out with someone in front of me. Shouldn't he be the righteous one? He wouldn't kiss a girl if she's drunk! Taking advantage of people is my thing not his.

But I guess it is an evening of surprises, because the doc just goes for it! His lips are back on Kate's in a millisecond. She grabs the back of his head and moans in his mouth. The bastard takes the opportunity to push a tongue in her mouth! She's scratching the back on his neck and this is getting out of control!

"Alright, alright! You guys proved your point! Let's move to the next round," I say, but my words fall on deaf ears, "you guys!"

Kate has somehow managed to pull Jack on top of her and she was now lying back on the mattress, and his hand is under her shirt! What the hell are these people doing!

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" I yell, but somehow they still cannot hear me. Their legs are now tangled around each other, and I think I am going to get sick, "ok, you two! This is disgusting! I don't want to watch this!"

Jack start nibbling at Kate's neck and her legs wrap around her waist. I know for sure that I'm going to get sick.

"Screw you two," I say, turning around and burying my head under the pillow to avoid their moans and groans.

This is going to be a long, long night.


	27. Orange

Special treat #4. This is for Ozge who asked for "Orange Panties". This is another "silly" little piece. Grammar is horrendous in this because I wrote it at work when actual work got too boring and it was a very long day, for the record. Set during the time off the island.

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**Orange**

"mmmm…. don't leave…" Kate mumbles sleepily, clinging to Jack's arm as he tries to peel her off him and get out of bed.

"Kate, I have to go, I'm already late," he says managing to get out of her grasp.

"But I miss you," she nags, trying to lure him back to bed with an adorable little pout.

"That's what you said last night, too," he says with a light chuckle, pulling clothes out of the closet, "and if I remember correctly that is the reason why I am late this morning.

"It's not my fault you had a three day conference in New York," she says, sitting up in bed, not bothering to pull the blanket over her naked body, "you owed me three days worth of jex."

"Jex?" he turns to her with a questioning look.

"Jex. Jack sex," she says plainly, "I need my Jex, and you owed me three night's worth."

He's giggling as he says, "well, I think I've paid my debts, no? You kept me up all night and now I have to explain to my patients why I'm an hour late, and I don't think "jex" is an acceptable excuse."

She is in the shower when he finally leaves. He goes to the bedroom to say good-bye but instead, he hears the shower running and a strategically placed pair of orange panties sitting on the bed.

He curses under his breath, the sight of the panties going directly to the one part of his body that desperately needs a break.

...

_Later at the hospital…_

"Dr. Shephard?" his assistant pops her head into his office, "do you want me to get you anything for breakfast?" she asks.

"Hmm…" he mumbled, realizing he had not had anything to eat since the plane ride the day before, "I'll have a cream cheese bagel and… orange juice."

"Orange juice?" his assistant asks quizzically, "not coffee? You hate orange juice…"

"I do?" he asks, " do…" he adds when he realizes he never liked the pulpy drink, "ok, coffee, then… I guess."

His assistant gives him one last confused before she leaves, shaking her head.

...

_Even later, still at the hospital…_

Jack walks towards the nurses' station, having finished a few visitations in the pediatrics ward. Head nurse Stevens calls to him with a stack of clipboards.

"Dr. Shephard, I need you to sign these please," the older woman says with a sweet smile.

Jack smiles back at her and reaches into his lab coat pocket to pull out a pen, "sure," he says.

He signs the first paper before she manages to say, "wait! Wait! Dr. Shephard!"

Jack looks at her, his eyebrows knotted in confusion, "what is it?"

"Dr. Shephard, you're signing the papers with an orange crayon!" she exclaims, and Jack looks down to see that he indeed is carrying an orange crayon in his hand. He smiles embarrassedly and reaches back into his pocket to pull out a pen.

...

_And even later, still at the hospital…_

Jack find himself in Dr. Jones's office, an office he has visited maybe once before. He remembers he saw a little jar of candies on her assistant's desk, and absently he walks over to that same desk.

"Dr. Shephard, to what do I owe this honor?" the head of radiology says when she sees him picking jellybeans out of the jar, quite diligently too.

"Dr. Jones, I'm sorry…" he stammers briefly, before he sees her beaming smile, he relaxes slightly and adds, "your assistant said I could help myself, and I just have the most persistent sweet tooth today."

She chuckles at his awkwardness, "of course you can. Anything for the resident hero," she says with a wink before adding, "if I were you, I wouldn't only take the orange ones. The red are actually the yummiest."

Jack looks down into his palm to find he had picked out seven orange jellybeans only.

He drops his head and sighs heavily.

"That's it!" he says, a little too loudly before marching off towards the exit.

...

_Less than half an hour later…_

Kate is getting the groceries out the trunk of her car when she hears tires screeching behind her and coming to a stop a mere meter behind her. She jumps back, shocked and a bit scared.

She sees Jack stepping out of his Bronco, his eyes dark, and he does not even shut the door, leaving his car running and standing in the middle of the driveway.

She barely has the time to sigh in relief before he is standing right in front of, trapping her between his body and her car.

"Jack, what…" she mutters, but her silences her with a finger to her lips and whispers, his voice thick, "you are pure evil."

He swiftly replaces his finger with his lips, roughly, pulling her lower lips into his mouth. She gasps, opening her mouth, and his tongue is in her mouth. He grabs her waist and pulls her onto the car, his thumbs dig roughly into the exposed skin above her jeans. She can do nothing but be on the receiving end of the beautiful assault he's launched at her.

He is robbing the air out of her lungs and as much as she is enjoying this, she needs him to stop before she faints. She raises her hands to his face, her fingers rubbing against his stubble before she reaches back to run them through his hair, against his scalp, hoping to calm him down, to allow her to catch her breath. He understands what she needs, his lips leaving hers, giving her a chance to recover. His mouth makes a quick switch between hers and her neck. He sucks, nibbles and bites, and she starts to moan, breathing not coming as easily as she hoped for.

His fingers manage to undo the first couple of buttons on her shirt, allowing his lips to continue their decent, before his hand drops to the top of her jeans.

"Jack, she moans breathlessly, and he finally pulls his face up to look at her. He is worried she wants him to stop, but instead she just points to the open garage door. If he is going to take her right there in the garage, she would rather not have the whole neighborhood a witness to that.

He pulls away, just enough to hit the button to close the garage door before he is back where he was, continuing the beautiful, dizzying assault on each and every one of her senses.

...

_A while later…_

They are still half-dressed, sitting on the trunk of her car, both completely spent, as they try to catch their breath.

"wow… that was… wow," she manages to say, her head rest against his shoulder, while he draws lazy circles on her back.

"I'm sorry if I was too rough," he says, pulling back to looks at her face, pushing the hair away from her sweaty forehead to plant a gentle kiss against it.

"Don't be…" she says, her fingers brushing gently against his cheek, "that was perfect."

"Perfect, huh?" he says with a smirk, the stroke to his ego always welcome, "well, you've got those little orange panties of yours to thank," he adds, swallowing her in a hungry kiss, feeling himself ready for a round two.


	28. Skipping School

Another special treat! This one was requested by **SoFeelingTheLove**.

I still owe a few more of those, so if you are still waiting for one, don't despair, they are on the way!

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**Skipping School**

"This way, please," the receptionist said as she ushered him through the principal's office, "Mrs. Adams will be with you in a moment."

Jack sat down in the brown leather seat and was suddenly getting flashbacks to his school days, being called into the principal's office, waiting for his father and the inevitable mess that would follow when he got into a fight with the senator's son who had been trying to steal a freshman's lunch money.

He snapped out of his daydream as an older woman walked into the office. She was tall, with short brown hair, and a stature of an athlete, definitely a basketball player back in her day he thought.

"Mrs. Adams, I'm…" he said standing up, but was quickly interrupted by the principal.

"Dr. Shephard, of course," she said, with a smile, extending her hand out for him to shake.

"You're all little Aaron Austen ever talks about," she said, sitting down at her desk.

Jack could feel a blush reach his face. He ducked his head and scratched the back on his neck.

"All good stuff, I hope," Jack said with a slight giggle.

"Of course, Dr. Shephard. You're his hero," Mrs. Adams said with a smile, "so what can I help you with today?"

"Well, I was wondering if it would be ok for me to take Aaron out of school early today," Jack said.

"Is everything alright?" the principal asked.

"Yes, yes, everything's ok… I just have the day off and wanted to spend it with him. I've had a very busy schedule lately and haven't had time to see him. I don't have a note from his mother… would that be a problem?" Jack said.

"No, of course not. You're the secondary emergency contact, so you don't need his mother's permission," the principal said.

Aaron's shriek of excitement could be heard all over the school as he launched himself at Jack through the classroom, bumping a few unexpecting classmates on his way.

Aaron had the whole day planned out; he'd had so for the past three days, since Jack told him about this secret day that they will be spending together. Aaron's plans included the park, the zoo, the arcades, the toy store, the candy store, and others, all needing more than one day to cover.

Jack had other plans though. They did include a trip to the park and a quick stop at the candy store. Aaron did not feel cheated though. He enjoyed the park as much as the next kid, especially with Jack who allowed him to go higher than his mother would let him on the swings. Jack always found that rather ironic. Any other situation and he would be the one who was over protective, but when it comes to Aaron, Kate becomes a different woman. And he loved that about her.

"C'mon, kiddo, time to get you home and get you cleaned up," Jack said, catching Aaron as he came off the slide.

"But Jack! We just got here!" Aaron nagged, trying to win the argument with an adorable pout.

Jack could not hide his chuckle; "they really need to teach you how to tell time in that school of yours. We've been here over two hours and we still have a lot to do, right?" Jack said, kneeling down for Aaron to jump onto his back as he walked off towards the car.

They spent the rest of the day completing the tasks on Jack's list, finally making it back home at five. They had just about an hour to get everything ready before Kate got home. He had left early that morning, very early, and he did not wake her up, knowing she would have been exhausted after the night they'd pent together. So he snuck out with barely a quick kiss on her forehead. She'd called him when he was in surgery but he never got back to her, so he knew she was going to be rather unhappy with him.

He managed to get Aaron washed and dressed in a record time, and then went about completing the necessary preparations for what he had planned.

Kate was shocked when she saw Jack's car parked in the garage. When he hadn't called her back, she had assumed he was still in surgery. Although it was supposed to be a simple procedure, she knew anything could happen. She started to worry that something had gone wrong, and she was starting to feel slightly guilty for being mad he had not called. She knew how hard it was for him to lose a patient.

She walked through the front door and was welcomed by an odd dark silence. She dropped her keys on the table by the front door and before she could switch the lights she heard,

"SUUURRRRPPPRRIISEEEE!"

She jumped back a little, genuinely shocked, but had little time to react because the three year old had launched himself at her, hugging her waist and mumbling into her tummy, "happy birthday mommy!"

Jack had finally switched on the lights and made his way to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and planting a kiss on her cheek, "happy birthday, baby."

Kate quickly wiped away at the tears that had escaped down her cheek. "you guys did all that?" she asked, surveying the surroundings. The house was decorated with colorful streamers and balloons. The table was covered with little sandwiches and plates of cheeses, there were little cupcakes and cookies, decorated with icing and M&M's, and there was a delicious looking cake in the middle of it all.

"I know you said you did not want to make a big deal of your birthday, Kate, but it's your thirtieth, so it is a big deal," Jack teased, as they were both being dragged by Aaron into the living room, the little boy beyond eager to get the festivities started.

She slapped him playfully on his arm, "shut up, Jack," she said, finally sitting down on the couch and waiting for further instructions from Aaron.

Aaron led the afternoon from there on, instructing her on where to sit what presents to open and what to eat first. He was more excited at every stage than she had ever seen him. He managed to sit still, watching her unwrap the each gift for about thirty seconds before he started ripping at the colorful paper himself.

By the end of the gift stage of the afternoon, Kate had more gifts than she thought she'd ever gotten. She was not sure who was worse, Aaron who wanted to buy everything in his sight or Jack who did not know how to say no.

By seven thirty, Aaron had had way too much food and was fast asleep between them on the couch; his face covered in chocolate frosting and powdered sugar. Kate offered to take him up to his room as Jack cleaned up downstairs. She had him in his pajamas and into his bed, when he opened his sleepy eyes and mumbled, "did you have fun mommy?"

Kate felt another set of tears pool in her eyes, "yes, baby, I did. Very much," she said, kissing his forehead.

"I love you, mommy," he mumbled sleepily before drifting back. "I love you, goober."

She made it back downstairs to find Jack had cleared the table of everything except for a piece of cake and two wine glasses.

"Hey," he said, watching her walk down the stairs, wiping at her cheeks.

"You ok?" he said, as she sat down next to him, cuddling into his side.

"yeah, I'm perfect," she said, reaching up to stroke his face gently, "that you for this, Jack… it was… absolutely perfect."

He smiled at her, warmly, and reached down to cup her face in his hand, his thumb softly brushing away the tears. He bent down, planting his lips softly against hers. "you're welcome, you deserve this… you deserve so much more."

They settled into a comfortable silence, sipping their wine and sitting together on the couch, wrapped in each other.

When she finally yawned, he convinced her to go to bed, and she was too tired to argue. He peeled her off him and takes the glass from her. She lazily dropped back into the couch, curling into the warmth of the spaces he had vacated. He chuckled lightly at the image of her, lying there, curled into a ball watching him clear the last remnants of the birthday from the room.

He expected some argument when he bent down to pick her up, but he got none. HE had one arm under her knees and another around her shoulder. Her arms went naturally around his neck, burying her face in his neck.

They lay in the center of the bed, her head on his chest and his arms wrapped securely around her, holding her to him. He watched her, her eyes slowly succumbing to sleep, and he gently pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Happy birthday, Kate." He whispered as she was finally falling asleep.

"I love you, Jack."

* * *

So here it is! I wrote this while I was/am sick, so I hope it is not so horrible!

Hope you guys liked this! Drop me a review ;)


	29. Mangoes

Special treat #6. This one is for **Aileen**. I am not sure if it fits what you asked for, but I wanted to try something different, so I hope you at least enjoy it. If you hate it, I am willing to give it another shot to get your request right ;)

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Mangoes**

Jack Shephard stepped off the bus, his duffle bag hanging from his shoulder, as he ushered the younger kids off the bus. It was the first time in twelve years that eighteen-year-old Jack was excited to get off that bus. After spending nine years as one of the kids at this camp, and then three as a camp leader, he was finally going to say farewell to this nightmare. Next year, he will be off in college and no one will make him come back to this place.

Jack did not mind camps in general; it was this specific one that he hated. While his best friend Marc Silverman got to go to one of the other fun camps, Jack was stuck with camp Rich and Famous. Everyone here was the son of either a politician, a celebrity or just the plain filthy rich. It was snobby and showy and just another excuse for these people to brag about how much money they had.

He watched as the kids lined up, in their designer clothes and shoes, designer duffle bags, expensive fishing equipment, bejeweled bags, make up, and fancy hair do's. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

_Six more weeks and then you will be done with this forever_, he told himself.

He looked at his troop. He was assigned the boys aged thirteen, by far his least favorite. He was about to call them to line up and move to their cabin when he saw her. She was standing far from everyone else, alone, avoiding the others. She was carrying what looked like a worn out old army duffle bag. She was skinny, with scraped knees and pale skin. Her brown hair was in a clumsy braid, half of it disheveled and covering her freckled cheeks. He immediately noticed the lack of any designer clothes. She was in a simple white t-shirt, green shorts, and sneakers. She looked about eight and completely out of place. Jack chuckled, thinking that maybe the poor little girl got on the wrong bus.

He waited a little longer, for some reason he wanted to make sure the girl's name got called and she was not left standing there, being ignored by every one else.

"Katherine Austen!" he heard Mandy Johnson call, the troop leader for the nine year old girls group and then watched as the little girl dragged the heavy duffle bag and made her way to the group. We watched as the rest of the children looked at her oddly, some throwing taunting remarks at her while the rest just rolled their eyes and whispered disapprovingly. He didn't know why but he felt an anger rage through him, he wanted to protect this little girl from the other children, but the look on her face, not caring about what everyone else was doing and saying, calmed him down a bit. Maybe this girl was tougher than he gave her credit for.

He tried to check on her the next day, make sure the piranhas in her group had not devoured, but unfortunately, the thirteen-year-old boys and the nine-year-old girls had very few activities in common. At dinner, he made sure to sit next to Mandy Johnson, much to his dismay because the seventeen year old had been trying to throw herself at him all year long, and while he had politely rejected her advances, she was pretty insistent, so was his mother, who was best friends with her mother.

After managing to make some polite small talk, he asked her how her troop was doing.

"Oh my God! Jack they are the most adorable troop ever!" Mandy squealed, "They're just the perfect group of little girls!"

_Doubtful_, Jack thought, trying hard not to roll his eyes too obviously.

"Well, except this one girl. Katie…" Mandy said in dismay, "I don't even know what she is doing here."

"Her dad served with my dad in Vietnam," Billy Hardwick said, interrupting their conversation. His father was on the board that organized the camp, and one of the most influential lawyers in the country. "She was supposed to spend the summer with him, but he was called on duty. So he asked my dad for a favor," he finished, shrugging and going back to his dinner.

"Well, whatever," Mandy said, "she just doesn't belong here. She refused to do any of the activities I had planned and just sat sulking with her stupid baseball. She didn't even have lunch. I mean, I get it if she wants to work on her figure, but she is freakishly skinny. It's not attractive." Mandy went on with her rambling about the girl and Jack thought it would be best just to ignore her, his eyes roaming the mess hall in search of her.

She was sitting at the end of one of the tables, ignoring her dinner, nibbling on a mango and flipping the ball in her hand.

The next day during lunch, Jack grabbed his food and walked out of the mess hall. Not in the mood to spend another meal with the other troop leaders, he decided to head towards his secret hideout. He had found the place during his second summer in the camp, it was a slightly secluded area, not far from the rest of the camp, but private enough for no one else to know about, allowing him some time away from everyone else, time to spend on his own. He had not met anyone who had known about this place in all the years he had spent in the camp, so he was rather shocked when he saw two scrawny legs dangling from the big tree. He recognized the skinny legs and scraped knees immediately.

"You're in my tree," he said, causing the girl to jump back a little.

She looked down at him, eying him for a moment before saying, "I don't see your name on it."

"Well, you didn't look carefully did you," he said, pointing to the carving in the trunk he'd made years ago, "J. Shephard, it says so right here."

She looked at him, biting her lower lip and said, "You're not going to tell them where I am, are you?"

"What? And risk everyone finding out about this place? Of course not," he said, smiling at her, "but you gotta at least let me share it with you."

"Sure," she said, shrugging and going back to tossing the baseball in her hand.

"You're Katie, right?" he said.

She nodded, "yeah."

He sat down on the ground across from the tree she was in, leaning back against a log so he can see her, perched on the branch. "I'm Jack."

"I know who you are. You were staring at me the first day," she answered.

"I wasn't… staring," he said.

"Whatever… Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be having lunch with your girlfriend?" she asked him bluntly.

He swallowed hard, trying not to choke on his food, "My girlfriend?" he asked.

"Mandy, my troop leader, she tells everyone you're her boyfriend. It makes all the other troop leaders jealous." she said with a shrug.

"ugh!" Jack said, "she's NOT my girlfriend."

"Shouldn't you be having lunch?" he asked.

"I don't eat meat," Katie said plainly.

Jack stared down at his plate. Burgers. He remembered watching her ignore her dinner the previous evening.

"Here," he said, getting her attention before tossing her his mango.

She caught it with a smile. He got up and gave her his pocketknife, "nice catch."

"Thanks," she said, smiling, with a bit of mango juice on her cheek.

"So, you any good with this ball or do you just toss it around to annoy the other girls?" He teased, pointing to the baseball in her hand.

"Of course I'm good!" she said, "I'm the captain of our team, and I even made Timmy cry this year!"

"You made Timmy cry, huh?" he asked, with a teasing smirk.

"He goes to baseball camp every summer. He thinks he is such a hot shot, and I made him strike out!" she said proudly.

"Maybe you should come teach my troop a thing or two then," he said with a wink.

"Really?" she said, excitedly, "no one in my troops wants to play. They just want to sit around and chat and show off their stupid tutus! This girl Shannon just keeps on twirling, it is so annoying!"

Jack chuckled, "I'll talk to Mandy and see if I can get you to join my troop this afternoon," he said, knowing Mandy would appreciate it, and knowing that his troop will definitely be annoyed. _All the more reason to get her to play with them_, he thought.

That afternoon, Jack had the most fun he had ever had in camp as he watched a tiny little nine-year-old girl embarrass a bunch of spoiled brats.

A couple of days later, Sam Austen came to pick up his daughter. She spent a few days with him before she went back to her mother and stepfather in Iowa. Soon, she had forgotten about the older boy in camp who shared her secret place and his mangoes with her.

Years later, on an island in the south Pacific, they both have an odd feeling of déjà vu as Kate tossed Jack a mango before they head off to embarrass another brat who ended up needing glasses.


	30. Purpose

I wrote this on a whim on fanforum to make two (evil) girls cry. So if you read this and it it depresses you, you can thank Cinzia and Ada. LOL! Seriously, though, this is not happy.

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Purpose**

Her finger travel over the smooth cloth gently, feeling every weave, every stitch, every thread. She does not even realize her hand is shaking until she feels the cloth under her hand start to fall down. She recovers it quickly; pulling herself together the best she could, wiping her shaking, sweaty hands against her jeans.

It has been a week since they left the island, and it has been like floating on a cloud, detached from reality, numb and disconnected. She remembers very little of the first few days. She would like to attribute the haziness to the wound in her shoulder, but that lie would never hold. The only wound she was suffering from is the one in her heart, the wound that ripped through her already broken heart and shredded it to pieces, irreplaceable, irreparable pieces.

She has not gone back to her house yet, having gone from the hotel they put them in, directly to Carole's motel and now she sits in his apartment, in his room, on his bed. The smell of him is everywhere, in every corner, on every surface, and she drowns in it. She walks around the place aimlessly, yet with a clear focused agenda. She makes sure she touches everything in her way, imagining him touching it and picking up his warmth from where his hands could have been.

Her shoulder burns when she makes a sudden left turn and hits a side of a wall. She hisses in pain and raises her right hand to press against the gunshot wound. She hadn't allowed the medics change the stitches, even though she knew they had to be. It is the last thing she had of him, the last traces he drew on her body and she wants them there forever. A doctor suggested that it could easily be worked on so that the scar disappears and she threw a fit in the clinic. She wants it to show forever, the mark on her skin that he sewed.

She imagines the scar he has… he had on his back, the one fro the day they first crashed, the wound that she had sewn, and how together, his wound and hers, connected, cut through the heart. That is what the island did to them, brought them together only to rip them apart. It is destiny's evil plan. She deserves this, she thinks to herself. After all the suffering she has inflicted on others, maybe there is such a thing as Karma.

She lies down on the bed. The last bed she sleep on before she left for the island the second time, and she can still feel him there. She remembers the last night they shared. True, she was angry, upset, frustrated, and she had come to him then, but not out of desperation or frustration. She had come to him because she wanted to. Because for months she had felt the sense on emptiness, the incompleteness eating at her soul, and she had known all that time that only he could feel that black hole within her. But she had fought that urge, she had someone else to care for, someone else was a priority in her life. But when that child was also gone; she went to the one place she knew she belonged.

She remembers how foolish she was as she lay in bed after they'd made love, wrapped in his arms, feeling the safety and security she only ever did when her body was cocooned within his. She had rested her head on his chest, feeling the gentle rise and fall of it as it lulled her to sleep. She had imagined them coming back from the island and getting a fresh start. She had imagined Claire would come with them and take care of Aaron, and she and Jack would move into his apartment. They would get a new chance at a new life together, free of the island, of the monsters and demons that possessed them. She imagined how it would feel like to wake up every morning wrapped in his strong arms without worrying whether the child down the hall would freak him out and send him packing. She imagined how it would feel to have the ring around her finger again. She had watched him sleep that night, and prayed that when they returned from the island, she would get that chance every morning.

She turns to her side, her hand landing on his pillow, her fingers tracing the phantom of where his soft hair would be. She had been wrong, foolish, and delusional. She had had her second chance and she blew it. Their return to the island was not the next chapter of their story; it was the end of it. He had returned to fulfill his purpose, and so had she. She brought Claire back, reunited a son and a mother. He had saved the island, saved the world. Usually, when a story ends with "and he saved the world" it was followed with "and they lived happily ever after". But their life is not a fairy tale.

They had returned to the island and each fulfilled their purpose. He saved the world and his reward was a painful death. And her reward was a life void of purpose, void of meaning because her purpose, her meaning, had to save the world.


	31. The Promise

Thanks for the reviews :) This one was also written with the one I posted last night, it's shorter and hopefully less depressing ;)

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The Promise**

"What?" she says, turning to find her staring at her, with that look of adoration that made her weak every time.

"Nothing," he says, his smile spreading wider as he takes the view of her in. Her hair is tied in ponytail and sticks to the back of her sweaty neck. A few loose curls fall across her face and she blows them off. She's wearing cut off jeans and beat up old shirt. There's a dirt smear across her cheek that makes the whole view all the more endearing.

"You're supposed to be helping, you know," she accuses him, pushing up off the hood of the car and turning to face him. They had decided to repair an old car together, something they'd talked about before… before this place, but never got to do. But now, hours later, he was sitting back watching her do most of the work while he just enjoyed the perfect fantasy unfold in front of him.

She waves a wrench in his face, ready to give him a lecture but he is quicker, grabbing her wrist and pulling her onto his lap. His lips are on hers before she has time to protest. Once she stops struggling he lets go of her wrist and move his hands down her sides, pulling her body flush against his. Her legs instinctively wrap around his waist and she gives in to the kiss, allowing him to debar her mouth until they both are in desperate need for air.

"You don't play fair, Shephard," she teases once she has caught her breath.

He chuckles and wipes the smudge off her cheek. "I saw this, you know," he says.

She looks at him, confused, "saw what?"

"This.. us… here," he says, kissing along her jaw between his words.

"What do you mean?" She asks still as confused.

"After Jacob made me drink that water… well, nothing big happened," he says, "you'd think it would be some big ceremony, but it was very… underwhelming. Later though, after he had gone. I got these flashes, images… I thought they were memories, there was my mom, dad, people from the hospital, Sawyer, Hurley… everyone from the plane. So I just thought it was whatever Jacob had done to me, my memories flashing quickly. And there was you, us… Some images were familiar, but some I just couldn't place…" he smiles gently, looks at her watching him.

She brings her hand to his cheek, caressing his face gently, urging him to go on, "I thought they were just memories mixed with dreams, things I wish I had shared with you, but never got the chance… or blew the chance," he smiles sadly and she plants a quick kiss to his cheek, "but right now, I realized that they weren't memories, they were visions, promises of this place, a promise that whatever I had to do back on the island, whatever sacrifice I had to make, there would be this place I will be coming to, and it will make whatever sacrifice I had to make worth it."

They are silent for a moment, before she drops her head, bringing her lips to his in the softest of kisses.

_And it is worth it._


	32. Just Like On The Island

This is an overdue request for **Jimelda**. I am sorry you had to wait so long for it and I hope you enjoy it!

AN: Ok, I just wanted you guys to know, my good friend Erica and I have started a new project. It is a Jate drabble challenge. So if you like either my writing or Erica's, please check it out. It's a tumblr page called **100wordsofjate**. Please take a few minutes of your time to check it out and we would highly appreciate your support!

Enjoy!

**Just Like On The Island**

Jack dropped his keys on the coffee table by the door, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was finally home after a long, hard day at work Thursdays were never good to him. It was always the longest day of the week, and something wrong always happened on a Thursday.

He hadn't taken two steps into the house when he felt a small body running straight into his legs. He quickly caught his balance, not wanting to fall over and hurt the little boy. He quickly scooped him up in his arms, throwing him playfully into the air above him because no matter how hard a day had been, coming home to his family always made everything better.

"Hey, kiddo!" he said, settling the boy on his hip.

"Is it Saturday yet uncle Jack?" Aaron asked excitedly.

Jack laughed. Ever since they made plans to go camping, Aaron had had his bag ready and by the door, waking up each morning for a week asking if that day was the day. "Not yet, buddy, we still got two more days to go," he said walking towards the kitchen and pointing it out on the big countdown calendar they had put up on the fridge.

Aaron studied the calendar carefully and nodded his approval, "two days," he murmured, putting up two chubby fingers in Jack's face.

"Hey," Kate said, walking downstairs, watching the two men in her life bond.

"Hey," Jack said back, putting Aaron down and leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

They had dinner and then together scratched another day off the calendar. Aaron spent the rest of the evening going on and on about what they will do on their big adventure, making sure to remind them of what they needed to pack and buy in case they had not bought it yet.

"I don't know how we can survive two more days of this," Jack laughed, getting into bed next to her, pulling her warm body towards him.

"Easy for you to say, buddy, you're at work most of the day," Kate retorted, turning around to face him, "I have to deal with the tornado of energy on my own in your absence," she said slapping him playfully on his chest.

Aaron stood in the supermarket cart, occasionally jumping to get either Jack or Kate's attention when he saw something he thought they needed for their little adventure. It was Friday afternoon, and Aaron had made it clear he could not wait till the next morning to make the shopping trip.

"Mommy, mommy!" he cried from the cart, reaching over to tap her hand that pushed it, "mommy! We didn't bring the marm… the mash… the marmshallows, mommy!" Jack and Kate both cracked up laughing. Ever since Jack had introduced him to the concept of S'mores, it had been on his mind, craving it to the edge of madness.

Kate laughed, pointing to the three bags in Jack's cart, "yes we did, Goober, we got them, they're right here."

"Maybe we need more!" Aaron cried, causing both Jack and Kate to crack up.

"I think the kid thinks we're going away for three years," Jack whispered into Kate's ear, making her giggle, with a light kiss to the side of her head.

"I think we have enough, baby," she said to Aaron, ruffling his hair and watching as he turned his attention back to the shelves.

"I don't think it is healthy how excited he is about this," Kate laughed.

"He's a three year old kid who was told he can spend two days in the great out doors being a man," Jack smiled, "his excitement is perfectly normal," he said picking Aaron out of the cart and onto his shoulder as they prepared to check out.

"You got it buddy?" Jack asked the young boy.

"I got it, Jack!" Aaron replied excitedly, holding tight to the flap of the tent. The truth was, Jack was doing all the work, but not wanting to make Aaron feel like he wasn't helping, he had him partake in various tasks that did not help or hinder the work Jack needed to do.

"Hold on tight, ok? I can't do this alone," Jack said, watching with a grin as the young boy's face scrunched in concentration and his little arms tightened their grip.

"Don't worry, Jack, we can do this!" he said with a grunt.

Kate watched from a few feet away, her lips stretched in a wide smile as she watched the two men in her life embrace the great outdoors and bond, like an uncle and nephew should bond. She knew how hard this had been on Jack, from finding out about Claire, to accepting the reality and finding a place back for Aaron and for her in his life. She had watched every day, with pride and adoration, as the two grew closer together, and as Jack grew naturally into the role of uncle and surrogate father, no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he was a natural at it.

"Do we make the fire now?" Aaron asked, pulling at her leg to snap her out of her reverie.

"Well, I make the fire now, you, kiddo, are gonna have to stay out on the bench for this one," she said.

"But mommy, Jack said I can help with everything!" Aaron insisted.

"Well, anything that does not involve fire," Kate said, shooting a glaring look towards Jack who shrugged in defeat, "how about you and Jack go look for firewood?"

Aaron nodded and quickly made his way towards Jack, "Come on, we need to get firewood," he said authoritatively and led the way.

They got the fire started and spent the evening having dinner, singing songs and eventually telling stories, with them mostly being Aaron giving his own renditions of stories he'd learned in kindergarten. He eventually collapsed against Jack's lap, his face smothered with chocolate and his lap full of cookie crumbs.

"I'll get him into the tent," Kate said getting up.

"No, it's ok, I got it," Jack said stopping her as he carried the boy and stood up.

"Yeah?" Kate asked, smiling widely.

"Yes," Jack smiled back and stepped closer to her allowing her to place a soft kiss against Aaron's head.

Jack walked out of the tent and watched in awe as the firelight and moonlight joined in reflection off of Kate's skin, illuminating her face within the frame of her brown locks. HE took a moment to catch his breathe which the view in front of him had stolen. It reminded him of all those nights on the island, when he's watched her from afar as she took her place in front of the small fire she'd made in front of her tent, wit ha piece of fruit and a water bottle, all those nights he's spent awake in his tent seeing her illuminated face smiling at him from across the beach.

He made his way to her, settling on the blanket next to her. "Is he ok?" she asked, snuggling close to him.

"Perfectly fine," Jack said, "sleeping in a tent comes naturally to him," he teased.

She gave him a playful glare and slapped his arm, "hey!"

"No, I just mean… he spent the first two months of his life on the island," Jack said, trying hard not to turn the mood sour, brining up the harsh memories from the island.

Kate broke into a giggle at his flustering, "I know, I'm just kidding," she said, resting her head against his shoulder. "Today has felt a bit like being back on the island though," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but not exactly like the island," Jack said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, yeah, there has been no smoke monsters or polar bears as far as I see," Kate laughed.

"That's not what I meant," Jack said, a little more seriously, making Kate look up at him questioningly. "Well, for example, I could never do this," he said as he bent his head forward, his lips meeting hers in a sweet kiss.

"And was that something you thought about often?" Kate asked teasingly when he pulled back.

Jack smiled, moving in to steal another quick kiss, "Every. Single. Day." he said, punctuating each word with a kiss.

"hmmmm…. Then I guess you need to make up on all those missed opportunities," Kate said, moving to straddle his lap.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Jack said, his hands coming to rest on her hips, pulling her closer to him and capturing her lips in another kiss, when that lost all the innocence of the ones that came just before it.


	33. Shut Up, Jack

Just a quick drabble set after The End

**Title: Shut Up, Jack**

The wave of light flooded the hall, drowning them all in a sea of peace. The room was silent for the longest moment as they all bask in the warmth of a feeling they had never known before. Jack's eyes were closed as he allowed that new blissful feeling take hold of his soul. He felt her fingers tighten around hers and suddenly that feeling multiplied. The smile on his face stretched and he squeezed her hand. She shifted closer to him, if that were possible, melding her body into his in a attempt to make them one, planning to never leave.

He opened his eyes after hearing the others start shuffling around and leaving. He turned towards her, his breath stopping when he caught the warm gaze of her jungle green eyes, her cheeks highlighted with a pink flush and her wavy brown curls framing her freckled face. She was more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. The smile on her face reached his heart, pulling at its strings, reminding him of all those years, all those memories they had lived and promising of an endless life together.

She dropped her head, the blush across her cheeks spreading further along her face a she took in the way he was looking at her, his eyes wide in awe, warm with adoration, his lips parted and his breath warm against her skin. She stared at their hands, sitting in his lap, marveling at how perfectly they fit, like the last two missing pieces of an intricate puzzle. She could feel him watching her, aware of his strong gaze pulling at her. With her eyes fixed on their entwined fingers she spoke softly, "now what?"

He shook his head, for the first time ever he did not know, and he had no problem with that. The ability to let go had finally taken over his obsessive need to take charge and he was willing to relent if it meant having her for the rest of all eternity. "I don't know…" he mumbled quietly, causing her to laugh gently understanding finally what that statement proved, that this new life is their second chance at getting it all right, at getting what they deserve.

She looked back up at him, seeing from the side of her eye that they were now alone, as Desmond and Penny got up to leave being lead by the light towards the beautiful unknown beyond.

"Kate," he said her name for the first time, letting the sweet taste of it roll off his tongue, a taste he had no idea he had missed so much, and she smiled, hearing it again after all those years, the way he said it, the love with which it reached her ears. She waited for him to go on, as his eyes closed for a brief moment.

"Kate," he said again, smiling wider as he thought he could spend forever just saying her name, before his lips pulled back, and he finally let the words that had been at the tip of his tongue make their way out, "I am so sorry."

He wanted to apologize, for so many things, for everything, and was resigned to the fact that he would have to spend a long time apologizing, seeking her forgiveness for all his mistakes, for all the pain he had caused her. So he said those words and waited, waited to gauge her reaction, to figure out how many times he would need to apologize, to prove to her the depth of his regret and sorrow.

She took a moment, watching his face contort in confusion, and then surprised him by letting out a hearty laugh, playfully nudging his shoulder. She started to stand, pulling him up with her and said, "shut up, Jack."


	34. Maybe The Deserve It This Time

This is a short, fluffy drabble written for my Cinzy on her birthday. For my birthday, Cinzy promised to make me 23 Jate vids. True story. Hope you enjoy it bb! And hope you had an absolutely magnificent day! I love you!

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**Maybe They Deserve It This Time**

He watched her sleep. Her body curled closely against his, her dark curls splayed wildly against the white pillow, one hand tightly closed in a fist, snuggled under her chin. Her cheeks were a warm shade of pink and her lips slightly open, warm breath escaping steadily and hitting his own skin, sending shiver down his spine with every rise and fall of her chest. His eyes lingered at her pink lips as he fought the urge to bend down and take them with his.

His eyes travelled further down, gazing at her long, sensual neck, stopping at her shoulder, half hidden behind her brown waves, and onto her arm lying in top of the light white blanket. He smiled as his eyes landed on her hand, the bright shimmer catching his gaze. He'd seen that ring shine like that before; when the moonlight penetrated the window of the bedroom they shared in that house in Los Angeles. That felt like a million year ago. But somehow the diamond glittered in a brighter luminance here. Maybe it was because the weight of the world was not on top of them, maybe because their ghosts weren't still haunting or maybe because this time he knew they were getting the happily ever after that they deserved.

She woke up slowly. Her eyelids fighting against the last remnants of sleep as they opened, her green eyes meeting his warm chocolate gaze.

"how long have you been up?" she asked with a yawn.

He chuckled, "long enough," he said pulling her towards him to greet her properly with a sweet kiss against her lips, "good morning Mrs. Shephard."


	35. No Girls Allowed

**Title:** No Girls Allowed

**Summary:** Set somewhere around 1/s2, back when things where simple and the head aches were kept to a minimum. So yeah, this is back when Jack and Kate would dance around each other and not admit their true feelings. Before the shit hit the fan ;) Enjoy!

Jack could see her from over his shoulder as he handed Sayid a handgun and spare bullets. He could see the readiness in her eyes, the anticipation that always surfaced whenever there was a need to trek dangerously into the jungle after one thing or another. He knew that she was the first to have her backpack ready and was itching to receive her gun and lead the way. It was something he had noticed from the beginning, from that dreadful first day, that whenever there was a chance to face some strange evil or malice beyond the tree line, Kate was always the first to volunteer, the first to tie the laces on her hiking boots and claim front row seats. It puzzled him at times. Not that it was the only thing about this woman that puzzled him, but this, was on top of the list. He often thought to contribute it to her inability to stay in one place for too long, her consistent need to move, her eternal perch to flight. At other times, he thought she craved the danger, the adrenaline, the excitement, whether for the rush, or whether for a rash readiness to throw herself in a live or die situation. But somewhere deep down, he knew that Kate only wanted to help, and that was one of the most endearing qualities for him.

Kate watched him avoid her gaze. She kept quiet, waiting for him to make his way towards her and hand her a gun. But he didn't. He avoided her completely until all the stash was distributed between him, Sayid, Sawyer, Locke and Michael. He quickly looked in her direction before he spoke, "alright, let's head out."

Kate huffed, loudly, making sure she was heard and waited. He turned to her, eyes stern and said, "sorry, Kate. Not this time."

She clenched her jaw in anger, wanting to fight, but opting to walk past him, shoving her elbow into his side, inflicting more pain upon herself then on him. "Oh, no, someone's pissed off their girlfriend," sneered Sawyer.

"Shut up," Jack hissed and started after Kate. "Jack, we don't have much time!" Locke called after him.

"Just… one minute, John!" Jack said, walking with long strides towards Kate's direction.

"Dude," Hurley said to Sawyer as he passed the group, "you know he hates when you call her that."

"Kate," Jack said, catching up to the fuming brunette.

"What, Jack? Do you want me to make you men sandwiches before you leave?" Kate spat in anger.

"Kate…" Jack whispered in an exasperated tone, "Please don't do this."

"Don't do what, Jack? Be mad because you treat me like an incompetent?" Kate hissed back at him, anger boiling in her eyes. "You know I am the camp's best tracker, and I can handle a gun better than most of the men here, so why shouldn't I be mad when you patronize me?"

Jack took a deep breath, silently acknowledging that she was in fact the strongest to have on this trek, and then bent down slightly to meet her eye to eye. He could not help himself but be lost for a moment in the beauty of her eyes, cursing himself for letting himself once again be unable to resist that. He was supposed to be in control, rational and pragmatic. His reason for not letting her come along should be a logical one, one that would be to serve the group. He could not let her know that it was personal. That he was favoring her against everyone else. He was not going to let her know that if she comes along, then he would spend the whole trek being worried about, watching over her, unable to concentrate at the task at hand. Because, even though Jack was a doctor who had seen too many injuries and too many deaths, and even though as the leader of the group, he has had to deal with injuries ranging from scratches and bruises to gun shots and stabbings, all these experiences could not have prepared him to having Kate on his operating table. Losing anyone of these people would damage him, but losing Kate would kill him.

"Kate," he said with another deep breath, as she continued to stare him down with a steely look, "you know that's not the reason why I want you to stay here." He brought a hand to her shoulder tentatively placing it against her warm skin. "I know you're the strongest, the most dependable out there, but you're also the most dependable here."

He watched as her eyes softened, just slightly, but still not enough to let him breathe in relief. "If anything happens here, you are the only one I trust to keep things under control. If something happens to the baby, or to Claire or to anyone in this camp you're the one that needs to be here to take care of things, to make sure everyone is safe. I wouldn't trust anyone else," he said gently, hoping his words would be enough to convince her, to make her believe, and that he would not have to reveal things his hearth is aching to say but his mind is fighting against. "And if anything happens to us out there, if I don't come back, you need to be here to keep the group together, to be the leader they so desperately need."

Kate stared back into the warm pleading eyes that were watching, waiting and gauging her reaction. She wanted to stand her ground, to show him just how pissed off she was but the truth was her resolve was quickly letting down due his honest words. She bit the inside of her mouth and took in what he had just said. He trusted her, he had faith in her and he needed her to take care of a group of forty other survivors. He chose her. Having so much trust thrust upon her, having someone believe in her that much was not something Kate Austen was used to. Usually, people overlooked her, or only saw her as that girl who killed her father. To be trusted, to be needed for something like that was more than she could have ever wanted. But there was another part of her, a tiny part that she would only admit to, that was hoping there was another reason for him to not want her alone, a part that quietly he hoped he cared about her just slightly the way she cared for him. But she knew to keep that part silenced, that she had no right or claim to want Jack to feel for her what she was secretly feeling for him. So with that, she swallowed hard, bringing to the surface that one phrase that hit her hard in his little speech and wrapped her arms around his neck, surprising him with a crushing hug, the last thing he expected. She closed her eyes and breathed him in, her lips close to his ears she whispered, "you better come back, Jack."


	36. Shiver

Just a short plotless oneshot that wouldn't leave me alone and I just had to write. Hope you enjoy it.

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**Shiver**

His palm lands on the small of her back as he holds the door open for her. His warm finger tips tease the smooth exposed skin where her burgundy dress falls loose, revealing her tanned back as it folds casually against her slender hips. He ushers her into the dimly lit foyer and cannot resist the urge for his other hand to trace the contour of her arm as she walks past him. She shivers under his touch, looking up at him, green orbs peaking bashfully from beneath long dark lashes. She waits until his traveling fingers reach her hand and sneaks her fingers between his.

She pulls him in after her. The house is dark except for the small lamp on the side table where he drops his keys and the flood of moonlight coming from the large windows across the spacious foyer. She pulls him in quickly, barely giving him time to kick the door shut before her small hands are on his dribbled cheek and she is pulling him down towards her. Her soft hands are a delicious contrast against his rough stubbed face. With one hand still flirting with the small of her back, raising goose bumps along every inch of her silky skin, and the other cradling the back if her head, drowning in the sea of dark brown curls, he uses his body to push her against the wall, trapping her smaller body with his larger frame.

He feels her thumbs press against his cheekbones and his eyes are closed shut and she unleashes a passionate assault against his lips. He lets her take charge for a moment, only a short moment, because he has other plans in mind, as he uses the hand that has been tracing a scorching pattern on her back to pull her against him, leaving no space for even the cool breeze to penetrate between their bodies. She gasps at his action a it takes her by surprise, and he takes advantage of the situation by taking her face in his hands, feeling the heat rise from her skin, her flushed cheeks filling his large palms. She gives in to the shift of roles, happy to relent control of the moment to him, trusting he knows exactly what she needs before she does, trusting he will take care of her just right. Her hands drop and she is struggling to loosen his tie because he is biting her lower lip with just enough pressure to make her moan involuntarily, his warm tongue tracing the contour of it deliciously. She finally manages to get rid of his tie and undoes a couple of buttons and when her fingers touch his chest, it burns with the flame of desire surging through him. But then his tongue finds access into her mouth and she knows her own skin is burning hotter. He tries not to hiss, the sensation a mix between pain and pleasure when with on hand she pulls at the short hair ate back of head and with the other her painted nails scratch at the skin of his heaving chest.

He is pretty sure they are both in dire need of oxygen but the feeling of her lips is too intoxicating for him to stop now. But when he feels her shiver against him he pulls back. She groans at the loss, not sure why he stopped so abruptly. She opens her eyes to see him staring at the open window next to them, the cool breeze sneaking in and the satin curtain flying wildly at them. She giggles out of breath at his annoyance at the rippling fabric. He reaches over, stretching over her to shut the window and she growls at the site of his exposed neck. She latches onto like a hungry predator, licking, sucking, biting, beaming with pride as she feels his rising pulse against her full lips. He is dizzy with desire an her merciless attack is not helping him maintain his focus. With one hand landing against the wall by her head, he pushes himself back, away from her, and he tries to catch his breath. The predatory look never leaves her eyes and they flash dark when he pulls away. His look urges her to slow down, to let them enjoy this and let it last longer. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She sighs when she feels hi touch against her wanting skin again. His thumb soothingly tracing over her eyebrow, traveling smoothly until he is teasing the curve of her ear, pushing back with it the curls that stuck to her sweaty forehead.

She feels her heartbeat settling back down as he manages to turn the intense, heated moment into a soothing intimate one. He continues to study her every curve with the concentration and intensity of a man on a mission. He bites his lip and continues the journey, reacquainting his senses with every exquisite detail displayed before him. His fingertips dance along her perfectly sculpted jaw, reaching her red lips, tracing them softly, watching as her eyelids fall, hiding away the jungle green orbs below. Her collarbone is deliciously exposed and he let his fingers study them as he makes plans to introduce his lips to them later. She sighs heavily when his touch travels towards the length of her arm. She is ticklish but does not dare pull away. He takes both hands in his and drops his forehead against hers as both their breathing has lanes down. His own eyes are shut now and he breathes in her scent. With his thumbs massaging gently at the skin below her closed eyes, he lifts his head up just enough to plant a warm, soft kiss against her forehead.

She feels a sob escape her throat, the act so gentle, so intimate and simple coming right after the intense passion they just shared, reflecting the man she is madly in live with, intense, focused to the edge of madness, yet warm, caring, gentle and so vulnerable it often broke her heart.

"Jack," she whispers, his voice urging, begging.

He just nods, "I know, baby, I know, me too."

**END**


	37. Fear

Set sometime after Eggtown

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**Fear**

He finally changes his mind. He knew he would the second she got into the taxi and drove away at the courthouse. He knew he would change his mind, knew he wouldn't be able to stay away much longer.

He find himself standing at her front door, flowers in one hand and a stuffed polar bear under his arm. He wasn't sure what to bring with him, to either her or Aaron, or if he should bring anything at all. The polar bear had been sitting in the spare bedroom in his apartment for over a year, since the last time Kate and Aaron had stayed over, before she bought the house, before they unofficially broke up and he slowly distanced himself from her until he cut them out of his life completely, not knowing how to deal with being Aaron his nephew and struggling with the guilt of abandoning his sister.

Her smile is slow but eventually creeps onto her lips and does not leave her face all evening. Aaron does not remember much but immediately takes a liking to his mother's guest. They have dinner and she is cautiously optimistic. Hours later, when they are in her bed, her back resting against his chest, the caution is all gone.

"I was scared," she says, lacing her fingers through his.

He kisses the side of her head, dropping his head slightly to whisper gently in her ear, "of what?"

"Many things," she admits, her thumb drawing circles in his palm, "the last year... there were many things that were really scary."

He chokes. He cannot see her face but he knows the tears are lining her eyes, creating a shallow glimmering lake reflecting her green orbs. He knows what is talking about. Being alone with an infant, finding a home and raising a child, alone, the arrest, the trial... alone.

"I'm sorry," he says, pulling her tighter towards him, "I am so sorry. I should have been with you."

She smiles, an honest heartfelt smile, and turns to meet his gaze, "you were," she whispers, and he stares at her in confusion. "You were with me because every time I got scared, I just counted to five."


End file.
